iTrainVikings
by A. Kingsleigh
Summary: Carly and the teens of Berk survived a Roman invasion, defying history in the process...but can they survive a dangerous adventure filled with old enemies, mysterious plots and a crash course in Seattle 101? Yes, no, maybe so. Chapter 18 reposted!
1. Chapter 1

**THEY'RE BAAAAAACCCKKKK!**

**Hi...did I get the Transformers gag right? *taps microphone* Is this thing on? Yeah, lame joke aside, they - Carly, Hiccup, Crystal and the rest of the heroes from **_**iTrainDragons**_** - are back for more. Welcome to **_**iTrainVikings,**_** my second crossover of iCarly and How to Train Your Dragon! First off, I'd like to say...if you haven't read the first story, STOP READING THIS IMMEDIATELY, GO READ IT AND THEN COME BACK. This is one of those sequels that makes zero sense if you haven't read the original - and besides, the original is awesome. If you **_**were**_** along for the first ride, then hello again! As for everyone, I hope you like all the action, laughs and randomness that a mash-up like this one can deliver. Sit back, buckle your seatbelt, check that your lap bar is locked, do not attempt to stand while the coaster is in motion...**

**DISCLAIMER: They're not mine - if they were, the second HTTYD would **_**soooo**_** not be coming out in 2014.**

* * *

**|~|iTrainVikings|~|**

"No."

_"Yes."_

_"No,_ I really, truly _won't."_

"It's not gonna be the end of the world. She'll just be...ya know...part of your _family!"_

"Exactly. Can you help me pack after school tomorrow? My mom left her scented lipstick my room, so you're gonna need a gas mask."

Freddie couldn't take it anymore. "What are you two talking about?" he asked, tired of watching Carly and Sam's conversation from the staircase of the Shays' apartment.

"Trying to talk Sam out of moving to Yakima," answered Carly.

"And _failing!"_ added Sam, who was sprawled on the couch with her face in a pillow.

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Over _what?"_

"Honestly? Do I have to say its name?"

_"Her_ name."

With a groan, Sam sat up. _"...Melanie."_

"Oh, _no._ We've been through this before, Puckett - "

In one swift motion, Sam stood up, whirled around and grabbed Freddie. "You wanna hear a _secret,_ Benson? _I lied._ Melanie's real, and she's _coming! TOMORROW!"_

"To...visit?"

"Permanently," answered Carly, which elicited a screech of frustration from her best friend.

"Don't remind me! She's gonna be _living here again,_ she'll be _going to Ridgeway,_ everyone's gonna _love her_ and...and..." Sam flopped back onto the couch, pressed her face into the pillow again and screamed at the top of her lungs.

Above the kids' heads, on one of the apartment's rafters, the scream abruptly woke a small, curled-up blue and gold mass. At first glance, a visitor might think it was harmless, perhaps some kind of rare cat...that is, until, they noticed the scales. Yawning, the creature opened its bright yellow eyes and stretched its leathery wings before hopping from the rafter and landing on the couch, where it stared intently at Sam. The blonde, sensing its presence, rolled over and looked up into the eyes of the otherworldly beast.

Finally she said, "..._What_ is your problem?"

A normal person would have screamed in fear and run out of the room with the intention of never setting foot in it again...but Sam knew that it was just a Terrible Terror. Furthermore, this was Crystal - quite possibly the last dragon living in the civilized world and the Shays' secret pet. She had been living with Carly and Spencer for the past six months, having followed the siblings and Carly's friends home when they returned from their "Great Time Traveling Adventure to Berk," as Spencer liked to call it.

"Crystal, stay away from Sam," Carly said as she picked up her dragon. "You know she doesn't like to be bothered when she's having her nervous breakdowns."

Sam was about to dish out a snarky comeback when Freddie's phone began to beep.

"Who texted you?" asked Carly.

"Wendy...she says we need to look at this email the school's sending out. Something about a 'mandatory technology course'..."

He was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. "CARLY!" a voice rang out. "It's me! You got a few minutes, or what?"

_Amanda? __**Now? **_ "Um...sure, just gimme a sec!" Carly answered, running upstairs to hide Crystal.

"Don't let her in," Sam mumbled to no one in particular, sinking back into the couch.

After a few more seconds of insistent knocking, the door opened and a short, bright-eyed girl sporting braces, a camera, Coke-bottle glasses, a notebook and messy streaks of blonde in her dark hair swept into the room. "Hi, Sam!" she said enthusiastically, seating herself on the couch and whipping out a pen tucked in the spirals of her book. "You mind answering a few questions about - "

Sam screamed again, shutting her up.

"Okay...'no comment,' " said the girl, scribbling down the phrase.

Carly reentered the room. "Hey, Amanda," she said, trying to sound happy at seeing the motormouth eighth-grader. She had to admit, Amanda Clark was nice...nice and _incredibly nosy._

_"Carly! _You do have some time for an interview, right? This one'll be real quick, I promise! So, care to comment on why your friend Sam was screaming? Or would you like to give an update on Spencer's latest sculpture? Oh, you don't have to do that, I'll ask him myself."

"He's at the World of Warlords convention...um, Amanda? You have actually _chosen_ a story for your article, haven't you?"

Amanda's smile faded. "Well, _kinda..._you see...well, no. It's just that there's _so many _awesome stories out there, ya know? The one for School at Sea's gotta be _perfect!"_

Any student at Ridgeway would have readily told anyone who asked that Amanda hadn't always been like this. She had once been a _normal_ peppy, nosy girl, not a _reporter_ one. That had all started when the brand new, year-long School at Sea contest was announced. No one knew the full details but apparently the previous winner, Missy Robinson, had been so insufferable that the people in charge of the school had agreed on a serious revamp of the contest terms. If a student wanted to enter, they had to prove they didn't get seasick easily, _and_ they had to write and submit a mock newspaper article to be judged by the school's teachers. After last time, no random name was going to be picked. Faced with the prospect of actually working for the trip, most of the kids were scared away - then there was Amanda. A girl who liked writing and routinely referred to Seattle as "the boringest place EV-ER." For two months she'd been going around Bushwell and Ridgeway searching for the perfect story she could use to escape her normal life, even for just one school year. And by some stroke of bad luck, she was somehow convinced that her ticket to globe-trotting lay in the apartment of her neighbor Carly Shay.

"You...you can take some pictures of Spencer's sculpture if you want," Carly said quickly, wanting to cheer up the girl. "And I've heard something about a new class at school. Maybe you can write about that!"

"Oh, I heard about that! Have you read the email? Can you _believe_ we're really going to be taught by - "

_"Oh, __**maldita!"***_

The sudden Spanish outburst had come from Freddie, who was looking at Carly's computer screen in horror. "Carly? Sam? You need to see this email. Like, _right now._ Oh, this is _bad..."_

"What, they're lifting the ban on Extreme Double Dutch?" asked Sam.

"This is _worse!"_

"What could possibly be worse than - "

_"Look!"_

**SUPER SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

**We are pleased to inform our students of our brand new add-on course, "Technology In Our Time!" In this exciting class, students will get first-rate instruction about the latest revolutionary advancements in the high-tech world and how these great leaps forward affect our daily lives...today and for many generations to come! The course is mandatory and will be held in Room 6F, beginning this Monday. "Technology In Our Time!" will be taught by a special guest at Ridgeway, the world-famous computer master and Internet critic:**

**NEVEL PAPPERMAN**

Freddie hadn't been joking when he said this was worse.

"ACK! Delete it, delete it, _delete it!"_

"No way!"

_"¿Por qué nosotros?"_

"Amazing!"

The last remark had come from Amanda. "The found of Nevelocity himself! I bet he's real smart and has so many interesting facts to share...I know! I'll do a story about Mr. Papperman! Everyone knows who he is! _Why didn't I think of this before?_ I'll start on Monday! Bye, guys! I have to get my interview questions ready!"

And just like that, Amanda was out the door, leaving Carly, Sam and Freddie in a stupor.

"Can you believe this?" Sam said. "A whole _class? _With _him?_ And _Melanie? _I'll never survive!"

" 'Mr. Papperman?' " Carly asked incredulously to herself. "Who calls a thirteen-year-old 'Mr.?' "

_"Weirdos._ I bet she's gonna be all 'Mr. Papperman this,' and 'Mr. Papperman that.' " continued Sam. "Man, Monday can't come slowly enough."

"Well...it could be worse," Freddie said cautiously. "It..it could be raining."

At that moment, a loud thunderclap sounded from outside. Within seconds, a heavy drizzle was pouring down. If looks could kill, the one Sam gave Freddie would have sent him into a catatonic state. "You just _had_ to say it."

* * *

_Wow, _thought Carly as she lay on the couch that night, Crystal curled under her arm. Sam and Freddie had gone home and Spencer still wasn't back from the convention, leaving her alone in the apartment. It was eleven o'clock, but she wasn't tired, and the storm was still going. Her head was buzzing with everything she'd learned that evening. Melanie was coming...Nevel, too. She could barely stand the guy in small encounters - a whole _class_ with him? Sam was right: Monday _couldn't_ come slowly enough. With such thoughts whirling around her head, she finally difted off to sleep...

_She was walking through a forest, __**very**__ slowly. She wasn't sure why, she only knew that she couldn't make much noise...and that she had to find Crystal._

_"Crystal? Crystal, where are you, girl?" she whispered. As she called for her dragon, she realized that her voice was joined by the voices of her friends; Sam, Freddie, Spencer, and a few voices she hadn't heard in quite a while._

_"Taser?"_

_"Techie?"_

_"Roger?"_

_"Horrorcow?"_

_"Fireworm?"_

_"Windwalker?"_

_"...Toothless?"_

_She was about to call out again when, all of a sudden, with a hideous metallic screech, the ground opened up, dropping her screaming into pitch blackness._

_**"TOOTHLESS!"**_

With a gasp, Carly bolted upright. She was still on the couch. Crystal was dozing on the chair, the clock read one forty-five and the storm showed no signs of calming down. Spencer hadn't returned yet, he would've woken her up.

"Easy girl," she said to herself. "Just another nightmare."

Then why had the voices of her friends from Berk seemed so...real?

She lay back down and closed her eyes, trying to fall back to sleep...but then she thought she heard a light knocking at the door. _Just ignore it._ _Probably not real anyway._

But it _was_ real, and it came again, louder this time.

Carly groaned. _"Spencer,_ this is only funny for _one of us!"_ she shouted at the door.

There was no answer, just more rapid knocking.

With a sigh, she got up and started for the door. "Listen, whoever you are, I am known to be _extremely grumpy _when people do stuff like this, and I _**don't appreciate - "**_

She jerked open the door and stopped dead.

There, standing awkwardly in the doorway, soaked to his skin, looking timid even for him, was the last person in the universe she had ever expected to see.

"I...guess that means I woke you up," said Hiccup Horrendous Haddock The Third.

* * *

**Next chapter: More new arrivals, explanations and much more. The madness is just getting started.**

**And...we're off! For a chapter that really just exposition, I think I did okay. But what do you guys think? Will this live up to the original? We can't really tell with the first chapter, though, can we? With hope, this story will be awesome as well. If you love it, please let me know!**

***"Oh, **_**maltida"**_** is the Spanish form of the Portuguese phrase "Ai caramba." Both of these translate to "Oh, damn!" which I thought was an appropriate exclamation. This is Nevel we're talking about, ya know.**

**Bye for now!**

**~A. Kingsleigh**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! I'm happy to hear that you all enjoyed the first chapter. However, my dark side apologizes for the cliffhanger it left you on, and so do I. Can't guarantee it won't happen again, though. Get ready for the silliness that is Chapter 2!**

**DISCLAIMER: You think not owning iCarly and HTTYD is **_**hard? Try being**__** water-boarded,**__** THAT'S HARD!**_** Oh, Ms. Sylvester...

* * *

**

"...But...I...why are...how did...thought...YOU!"

Grabbing his arm, Carly practically dragged Hiccup into the apartment, slamming the door behind her. _"Why are you here, __**how**__ are you here?"_ she finally managed to say. "What's gonna happen? Does your dad know you're missing? What if this alters the timeline? It's not that I'm not glad to see you and everything but _**oh my God, you're HERE!"**_

"Yes, we've established that," Hiccup said, "and for the record, I have _no_ idea how." He cautiously stepped toward her. "Please...don't...freak out."

Carly took a deep breath. "...I-I'm sorry. It's just..." She closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again. Hiccup was still there. "...I'm not hallucinating," she mumbled wonderingly.

"Thank you for summing that up."

"Did...did you come here alone?"

As if on cue, there was more knocking on the door. "Hiccup? Was the troll right? Is this her room?"

_"Fishlegs?"_

The door opened and the blonde, stout Viking teen rushed in. "Your town is _scary!_ It's so big I thought we'd never find this place! Did you know there's a troll living downstairs?"

"A...what?"

"It's not very nice. When we asked about you the first time it just _screamed._ I don't understand why all the lightning hasn't scared him off..."

Carly leaned against the door for support, tuning out Fishlegs's ramblings. _**What**__ is going __**on?**__ More importantly, __**WHY?**__ What could __**possibly**__ be the reason for them to show up __**now...?**_

"Hey, are you all right?" Hiccup asked.

"...Maybe..."

A shrill, terrified squeak got their attention. Fishlegs was staring at Spencer's Bottle Bot in horror - he'd made the thing's eyes light up. "W-What IS THAT? Carly, _help!_ It doesn't like me!"

_Oh, boy.

* * *

_

Several hours later, the trio was sitting in the iCarly studio. After drying them off, Carly had had to give Hiccup and Fishlegs a little tour of the apartment, explaining what each appliance was and how it was not going to "kill, strangle or eat you. Or any combination of the three!" This had taken most of the morning, but both boys were amazed at everything, especially the things upstairs that were used for the webshow. As it turned out, they'd seen quite a lot of weird things that day...

"So the six of us had stopped on the far side of the island and the dragons just start going _nuts,"_ Hiccup was saying.

"There was this really big rock in the clearing and Horrorcow was sniffing it like it was sweet grass or something. I was gonna calm her down when she flies toward the rock and..." Fishlegs paused for effect. "...goes _right through it! Like it wasn't even there! And she didn't come out the other side!"_

_"How_ is that even possible?"

"That's what _we're_ trying to figure out," Hiccup answered. "Anyway, the other five went after her, then Lout and Tuff freaked out and ran through it after them, so we had to go get _them_ and...well...it's all pretty blurry after that."

"Yeah!" Fishlegs added enthusiastically. "There was spinning and lights and this really loud squeaking noise! And then we were in this big field with trees and a fence...just me and Hiccup. I think the sign called it a 'park.' "

"How'd you know where you were?"

"The tower you told us about," answered Hiccup. "The giant needle, or whatever you call it...the space needle."

"So we looked around for a while until we found a map and we used it to get to your house and then we found the _troll!_ You have seen it, haven't you? I mean, its lair is right next to the door. It was really short and dressed in gray and it had this _gigantic_ wart."

"Ohh...you don't need to worry, guys. That's Lewbert, and he's not a troll - at least, I'm pretty sure."

Suddenly, they heard the door slam downstairs. _"Carly! __**CARLY!"**_ It was Spencer. "Carly, you are not gonna believe in a _million years_ who's - AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!"

_"Spencer!"_

Rushing down to the living room, Carly was met with an amusing sight. In the room stood Spencer Shay, along with two smaller figures in cloaks. Spencer hadn't bothered to change after the convention, because he was still wearing his Aruthor costume...his utterly _drenched_ Aruthor costume. The three figures shrieked as they were mercilessly attacked by the sink sprayer, being controlled by...

"Sam! Put it down! _NOW!"_ Carly yelled, coming down the stairs and towards her friend, with Crystal hissing menacingly.

Sam sheepishly turned off the sprayer. "I...was practicing!"

"For _what,_ exactly?" Spencer asked incredulously.

"Probably how she softens up all her victims," replied one of the figures.

Carly and Sam did a double-take. "Snotlout?" they asked.

The figure pulled back the hood of his cloak. "Your village is _weird,"_ he answered, jerking the other figure's hood back to reveal the face of Tuffnut.

"At least the gathering your brother dressed up for was," the male Thorston twin retorted.

"Did you _take_ them to that convention?"

"Lout! Tuff!" Hiccup and Fishlegs shouted, coming down the stairs and seeing their friends.

For once, Sam couldn't think of a thing to say. "Wha..._why are they here?"_

Spencer was decidedly happier. "You guys, too? Snotlout said you might be here. And I was thinking we'd never see any of you guys again! How long have you been here, how'd you find this place? Carly, what's happened?"

" They knocked on the door this morning," replied Carly. _"Very_ early this morning."

"We've treated her nicely, though," Hiccup said, knowing how Spencer could get over his little sister.

"The robot wasn't so nice," said Fishlegs, pointing cautiously at the Bottle Bot.

"You _still_ haven't answered me about the convention!"

"I didn't _take_ them, they were already there," Spencer said defensively. "All the lights went out and when they came back up, those two were standing just a few feet away! It was amazing and creepy at the same time..."

At this point, Sam finally spoke up. _"All four of you? __**Here? NOW? **_What's next, is Lewbert gonna come in dragging Astrid and Ruff?"

Just then, they heard several loud bangs coming from the hallway, accompanied by three screaming voices.

"I think that might be a yes?" Snotlout said.

Sure enough, the door was flung open and in stormed Lewbert, dragging Astrid Hofferson and Ruffnut Thorston. _"I'm getting __**TOO OLD FOR THIS!"**_ the doorman was shrieking.

The girls jerked themselves away. "That was _not_ necessary," snapped Ruffnut, shooting Lewbert a dark look before walking towards the others. "So my buff-elf brother got you here after all!" she said.

Lewbert gave her a look of confusion before turning back to Astrid, who was glaring at him vehemently. "What are _you_ looking at?" he sneered.

The headstrong Viking girl lunged. "When I'm done with you, _you'll be looking at the inside of your own - "_

"AHHH! No, no, no, _no!"_ Carly shouted as she and Hiccup got between them. While Hiccup dragged his girlfriend away from the fight, Carly pushed the now-screeching Lewbert towards the door. "Okay, Lewbert, you can go now!"

_"YOU CAN'T KEEP ME OUT! I HAVE __**SUPREME AUTHORITY!"**_

_"THANK YOU,_ Lewbert! Bye-bye! Always nice to see you!" She pushed Lewbert out into the hall and shut the door as the doorman emitted another of his telltale shrieks.

"...I was _wrong_ to say that," Sam remarked.

"I-I'll say you were," replied Fishlegs, cowering behind the Bottle Bot.

"O-kay, if anyone else would like to barge into the apartment, now would be a good time," Carly announced sardonically as she collapsed onto the couch. "No? Fantastic."

Just as she finished speaking, however, the door slowly opened, revealing Freddie standing on the threshold, mouth hanging open. He looked at each of the Viking teens incredulously, as though trying to come up with an appropriate response to the blant violation of reality he was witnessing. All he managed to say was "Aaaaaaahhhh?"

Spencer leaned down to Carly's ear. "You spoke too - "

"I know."

"Astrid, calm down. It's okay," Hiccup was saying. His presence seemed to calm down the girl significantly, and she relaxed...before spinning around and punching him, that is. _"That's_ for not trying to find us," she snapped.

"Look, Legs and I had _no idea where we were_ and it was _pouring rain..." _He was silenced by an abrupt kiss to the lips.

"And _that's _for getting yourself here alive. Gods, Carly, how do you survive this place?"

"Sam, _don't you dare!"_ shouted Freddie.

Everyone's heads whipped around to see Sam leveling the sink hose at Freddie's face. Tuffnut dashed over and snatched it out of her hands. "No," he said, pointing at the hose. "Whatever this thing even is, no."

Freddie was shaking his head in wonder. "But...how...how did..."

"Nobody knows, Benson," said Sam matter-of-factly. "Nobody at all."

"Well, that's not _entirely_ true," said Fishlegs.

The next hour was spent sitting on or around the couch as the group listened to each others' version of events. Hiccup and Fishlegs had been dumped in the history museum's park, while Snotlout and Tuffnut had ended up at the convention center. Astrid and Ruffnut were the luckiest, in terms of distance from Bushwell - they had found themselves on the building's _roof._ Their stories of how they actually got to Seattle from Berk, however, were more or less the same.

_"Spooky,"_ Freddie commented. "Does that mean you guys are, like, stuck here?"

Hiccup shrugged helplessly. "We don't know."

"Don't get too down," Spencer said consolingly. "You can all stay here until we figure out how to get you home."

The Vikings all smiled thankfully, but Hiccup's face fell again. "I just wish I knew where Toothless was..."

"He went through the rock, didn't he? He's in this time, at least," answered Carly.

"Can we figure that out later?" asked Freddie. "I've seen enough weird things for one morning..._Sam, put down the hose!"_

Sam reluctantly dropped the nozzle. "I told you, I gotta practice!"

"Practice for what?" asked Astrid.

"...She's gonna be here any minute..."

_"Who?"_

Just then, there was a loud ding. The elevator door slowly rose, and out stepped...

"Sam! Oh, it's so great to see you again!"

Nobody spoke. Then Snotlout said, "There's two Sams?"

* * *

**Next chapter: The arrival of Melanie Puckett means many things; a new plan, new identities...and some new emotions for a certain chubby, brainy Viking lad.**

**I can't remember the last time I had such a fun spring break. In addition to reading all your nice reviews, I saw **_**Rango**_** and **_**Gnomeo & Juliet**_** in the span of two days, both excellent films. I saw Rango has a spot at Best Animated Feature next year, the way **_**Cars 2**_** is looking. Avenge HTTYD by stealing the Oscar from Pixar, you intrepid little lizard! Okay, that sounded weird.**

**~A. Kingsleigh**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Greetings and salutations. Miss Kingsleigh is not currently available, so she has enlisted myself to write this installment and its introduction. She apologizes for leaving you in the dark for such a long time...and so do I. Somewhat. Most unfortunately, it is not in my knowledge when Miss Kingsleigh will return, so I fear you could be stuck with my meager writing skills...and decidedly morbid imagination...for a very long time...a very long time, indeed...**_

**HEY! GET OFF MY LAPTOP!**

_**Miss Kingsleigh! Why, I-I did not expect you back so quickly - **_

**Right back atcha! Now GET OVER HERE, YOU LITTLE FREAK!**

**(one massive chase later)  
**

**Ugh, sorry you had to read that. My dark side got out again - and after a 158-day record, too. Oi...well, anyway, please enjoy the new chapter. I had plenty of time to brainstorm after being bound, gagged and locked in a closet with the Twilight saga on audio being mercilessly pumped into my ears...**

**DISCLAIMER: Nope.

* * *

**

"There's two Sams?"

So it seemed, for the girl who had just stepped out of the elevator was practically a mirror image of Sam in terms of their faces - but that was as far as it went. From the stripes on her light pink blouse to her neat ponytail to her charming smile, it was obvious to the others that she was everything Sam wasn't and then some.

"I can't believe I'm finally _here!"_ the girl exclaimed as she hugged her twin.

"Yeah, neither can I...Melanie, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, silly. Mom said you hang out here all the time. We're going shopping with Carly, remember?"

Cautiously, Sam glanced behind Melanie at her friends. The Vikings looked shocked, Carly was on the verge of hyperventilating, Spencer and Hiccup were madly scrambling to hide Crystal, and Freddie was just standing there, eyes practically popping out of his head, looking like he was going to pass out. "Um...ya know, this wasn't really the best time to come, we're really, _really_ busy right now," she replied, trying to distract her sister from the silent panic attack. As she subtly watched them, Spencer hastily gathered the dragon in his arms and went tearing off towards his bedroom while Hiccup quickly nodded to Sam, signaling that it was alright.

"...But what am I saying, now's the _perfect_ time!" she exclaimed, spinning Melanie around and walking her towards the group. "These guys have heard a _lot_ about you, we're all so excited! You remember _Freddie,_ don't you?"

Melanie was already smiling at her shellshocked crush. "What makes you think I forgot?" she jested, taking his hands in hers. "I can tell you sure didn't." She leaned in for a kiss...and Freddie snapped. Jerking his hands away, he turned and, screaming in disbelief and terror, vaulted over the couch and charged up the stairs. _"THIS IS ALL __**SO WEIRD!"**_

"Um...is he okay?" asked Tuffnut.

"It's a long story," replied Carly.

"What's all 'so weird?' Is something going on?" Melanie added, looking to Sam for an answer.

"...Uhhh..."

At that moment, Spencer ran back into the room. "It's okay! It is _all...okay. _Under...control..." he trailed off, seeing that Sam was giving him a death glare.

Melanie turned to Carly. "Am I missing something here?"

"Oh, no! You're not missing _anything!"_

Everyone turned to see Fishlegs emerging from behind the Bottle Bot. Like the other Vikings, he too was staring at Melanie...but with awe. "I, um, wasn't referring to _you,_ in that _way,"_ he said quickly, realizing what they all must be thinking. "What I meant was...nothing weird...that sounded wrong."

"I think I get it," replied Melanie. _"Nothing weird_ going on, right?"

_"Yes!_ Yes, that's _completely_ what I meant, that's _all_ I was trying to say! Uh...I have to...see where Freddie is!"

"Wait," Melanie said, preventing the boy from tearing upstairs. "Do you live around here? Are you a friend of Sam's? What's your name?"

Fishlegs was getting unnaturally pale. "My...name? Well...it's..." He looked at his friends, who were all shaking their heads frantically and mouthing 'not your real one!' But what else could he tell her?

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Oh...oh! Yes, I'm fine, I'm..."

"Felix!"

_**What?**_

"Yes..._Felix,"_ continued Sam coolly as she sauntered towards Fishlegs. "Melanie, this is our friend Felix. He's new here. Moved from _Wisconsin..._yeah, Wisconsin."

Melanie stared at them confusedly for a moment, then began to smile. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Felix. I'm Sam's sister Melanie."

_"Melanie,"_ Fishlegs repeated happily. Her name was pretty. _She_ was pretty.

"And these guys? Are they from Wisconsin, too?"

_Oh, maldita._

This time, Carly took the lead. "Yes! They're _very_ good friends of ours, _very_ close. This is..._Sean,"_ she said, gesturing to Snotlout, who waved hesitantly, "and these are _Ramona_..._Terence_..._Ashley..._and..." She wasn't coming up with anything good for Hiccup.

"Um..._Hunter,"_ he said quickly, saving her the trouble. "Nice to meet you."

"And they all just got back from going to the World of Warlords convention with Spencer, _which explains why they're dressed funny,"_ Carly continued, nodding as she did so. "They're gonna be staying here with us for a while - "

"Yeah, and they're going to Ridgeway with you guys, too!"

Everyone froze, their eyes fixed on Spencer. "Did I...say something wrong?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, that's gonna be awesome!" replied Melanie. "We'll all be spending a lot of time together, then."

"Yes..._we will discuss it further,"_ said Carly, giving Spencer her 'you-are-in-so-much-trouble' smile.

Melanie's phone began to beep. "Mom's already at the mall. She wants to know where we are," she said, looking at the text message.

"Tell her you're on your way," Sam answered. "We can meet you there in a while. Carly and I got some work to do here."

"That's fine." Melanie headed for the door. "It was nice meeting you!" she said to the Berkians as she left. "Bye, Felix."

"Bye! See you later! Bye!" Fishlegs responded, waving ecstatically.

Carly waited until the door had shut and the sound of fading footsteps indicated that Melanie had truly left. She held her smile for a moment, turned to Spencer...and unleashed her full fury.

_"WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?"_

"I was just playing along!"

"Well, you _shouldn't_ have! You just _had_ to say they were gonna go to school here! And she _believes_ you!"

"Look, we can sort this out - "

"But she might get suspicious! Then who _knows_ what would happen? _Bad things would happen, Spencer! __**Very bad things!**_And it would be _**all your fault!"**_

"Calm _down..."_

_**"NEVER TELL A GIRL TO CALM DOWN!"**_

Freddie chose this moment to sneak back down the staircase. "Is..._she_ gone?"

"Not the issue, Fredwich."

Carly sank onto the couch. "Why me? I'm a good person, why can't weird things happen when it's _convenient?"_

Hiccup sat down next to her. "Ridgeway...that's where they train you, right?"

"Not your kind of training."

"It's school," continued Spencer. "Ya know, the reading, the 'riting, the 'rithmetic...?" He was met with blank stares from the Viking teens. "You learn facts, dates, read books, write papers, do math, go on cool trips, socialize, blow stuff up if you're lucky - "

" - go to dentention if you're Sam," remarked Freddie.

"Of course, you wouldn't _have_ to deal with any of that if you didn't want to..."

"I like the sound of it," Hiccup answered.

"Really?"

"It could be a good way to figure out what's going on. We could look for hints if we were able to explore this place. Besides, we can't just hide here."

"I could," Tuffnut piped up.

"No, your stench would give you away," snapped his sister.

"Would we really get to blow thing up?" asked Snotlout.

"Would _Melanie_ be there?" added Fishlegs.

"Yes and yes."

"I say we go!" they both exclaimed.

"Yeah...not," said Sam casually. Seeing everyone's shocked and confused faces, she smirked and began to pace about the room. "First of all, you can't go anywhere dressed like that. Easily fixed. Second of all, you gotta learn to blend in...not so easily fixed."

"What are you saying?" Astrid asked suspiciously.

"What I'm saying is that the six of you are comin' with us today. You're gonna learn _exactly_ what to do around here. This city is a _phsych ward,_ and Ridgeway's no exception. Think of it as 'Seattle 101.' "

"Sam, are you sure about - "

"Momma's got this." Sam pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a number.

"Calling your mom?"

"Nope. A friend."

Carly raised her eyebrows. "Who?"

"Examples of what to do work better when you've got one of what _not_ to do," she responded, grinning mischievously.

Freddie leaned towards Spencer. "What's she doing?"

"I dunno," he replied in a faintly terrified voice.

Sam raised her cell phone to her ear. "Hey, Gibby! Can you meet the four of us at the mall? We got a surprise for you."

* * *

**Next chapter: Seattle 101 goes into full session. There may be no survivors.**

**Yes, I'm still here, I'm just majorly overwhelmed with school right now. I hope this makes up for the wait. Also, I hope you enjoyed the Fishlegs dorkiness - wow, my first attempt at writing real romance of any kind. Was it okay? I sure hope so, because I plan to have it continue. If you have anything to say, the Review button is right down there. Use it, I say! USE IT! Feedback is always nice, no?  
**

**Au revoir!**

**~A. Kingsleigh**


	4. Chapter 4

**It's official; my muse doesn't like me anymore. I had to spend DAYS brainstorming about what should happen in the chapter before I even started it. Hopefully, you all like this one. Please read while I go check my muse trap. I have NOT given up!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't, which is good because if I did, I wouldn't know what to do with them.**

* * *

Things were not going well.

When they'd arrived at the mall after disguising Hiccup and his friends in modern clothes (courtesy of Carly, Freddie and Spencer,) Sam had told them all to wait near the entrance. Gibby was to meet them at the fountain, and she planned to go ahead first and break the news to him gently. "If I'm not back with him in fifteen minutes, then he's vomited in a trashcan or something," Sam had said matter-of-factly. "Yeah, that's not a joke," she added, seeing Ruff and Tuff start to snicker.

The fifteen minutes crawled by, turning into twenty, and Sam still wasn't back. Reluctantly, the gang set off towards the fountain, almost dreading what they would find. There was no limit to the weird things Gibby would do in public.

"Gibby?" Freddie called out as they approached. "Gibs, are you...okay..._what's he doing?"_

The friends were met with the sight of Gibby shirtless and sitting _in the fountain,_ with his head submerged beneath the water. Sam was lounging on a nearby bench, watching him with bemusement. The others were decidedly less entertained, to say the least.

_"Sam!"_ Carly yelled. "What are you _doing?_ _What is __**he**__ doing? _Gibby, _get out of there!"_

"Relax," her best friend answered. "I told him to do this." She turned to the Vikings. _"This_ is your first lesson; the Gibby. The _humble_ Gibby. _Observe_ the Gibby in his natural habitat. Whatever the Gibby does, you must do _**the exact opposite.**_ Am I right, guys?"

For a moment, Carly seriously considered getting him out of the fountain herself. If Sam wouldn't do it, _she'd_ be the responsible one. How hard could it be to drag the biggest weirdo in Seattle...out of a public fountain...in the middle of a mall...with dozens of people around...while trying to teach the Vikings how to blend in...

"I knew this would get worse before it got better."

"Oh, like he doesn't do _this_ kind of stuff on a regular basis."

"She's got a point," remarked Spencer.

"Yes, I do. Now sit down, please. Before you start makin' a bigger scene than he is."'

Hiccup joined her on the bench, tugging nervously at the collar of his T-shirt. "He didn't take it well, did he?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, he looks almost like he's trying to _drown himself - "_

"Hey, Gibby!" Sam interrupted. "Show us whatcha got!"

Hearing her, Gibby emerged from the water and carefully climbed out of the fountain. He was soaking wet and holding his shirt out in front of him like he was _carrying_ something in it...which he was. "Two hundred sixty-four!" he shouted. "There were two hundred sixty-four pennies in there!"

"I said two hundred sixty-_five!_ Did you check all around the thing?"

Gibby looked confused. "No...you said two hundred sixty-_four._ You wrote it down."

"Well, now I want two hundred _seventy_-four."

Sam turned around to view the shocked and confused expressions of her friends. "What?" she asked, as though it was all perfectly normal.

"You freak us out when you don't come back with him, and then you make us come all the way over here to watch him do _that?"_ Freddie said incredulously. "Sam, this isn't some kind of game, we really need to - "

The others never would find out what Freddie thought they really needed to do, for at that moment Sam slapped him across the face, showing absolutely no emotion as she did so.

"...All right, _that's it!" _Freddie exclaimed, trying to launch himself at Sam. She was ready for him, however, and the boy quickly found his head locked under her arm as she yanked his hair and continued to smack his face. Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs were almost horrified while Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut seemed to find the scene amusing. Spencer was somewhere in the middle, and Gibby was meticulously counting the pennies in his shirt.

"And _this_ is your second lesson," said Carly. "The Sam and the Freddie. The_ deranged_ Sam and the _unfortunate_ Freddie. _Observe_ the Sam and Freddie in their natural habitat. Whatever the Sam and Freddie do, you _must_ do the exact opposite."

"Hi, guys! I...oh, Sam, let him go."

At the sound of Melanie approaching, Sam instantly released her grip on Freddie and hurriedly whirled around to face her sister. "Melanie! You're here! _Yay!_ You...surprised us."

"Sorry. I turned my back on Mom for one second and she got arrested for - "

"Yeah, she'll be fine," Sam interrupted quickly. "Okay! _So..._ we were gonna show you and our friends from Wisconsin around Seattle today. How's that sound?"

"Well, _I'd_ love to."

"Then it's a wonderful idea! I say we go!" Fishlegs added enthusiastically, earning him more than a few odd stares.

"Um...sure," said Hiccup after a moment's silence. "Where are we going, Carly?"

"Please don't say Glitter Gloss, please don't say Glitter Gloss," Freddie and Spencer pleaded softly. _"Please_ don't say Glitter Gloss..."

"Oh, now _there's _an idea!" Sam exclaimed.

Freddie squeaked in terror and dread. "Oh, come on! A little _mercy_ for the dudes here, please?"

"What are you so scared of?" Tuffnut asked.

"Aw, don't worry," Sam replied. "This is gonna be _educational."_

"They've never done anything bad to _you!"_

"Yeah, but you have. At some point." And with that, Sam picked up Freddie, swung him over her shoulder and walked off, happily ignoring her captive's pleas for help.

_"Glitter Gloss! __**Why**__ did I have to say __**GLITTER GLOSS?"**_

Carly's internal thoughts were much simpler: _Help. Us._

* * *

_"This_ is what girls here do for fun? You've got to be joking..."

"Not one for makeup, Ramona?"

"That's an understatement."

"So, Ashley," Melanie continued, "do you think I should get the pink lip gloss or the lavender?"

"Yes," said Astrid, not listening or caring.

"Felix? Your opinion?"

"Oh, definitely pink."

"That's _just_ what I was thinking! But...I know! Freddie, where are you?"

Fishlegs's smile faded as Melanie went searching for her crush. "Freddie, which one do you like better? Freddie?" No answer.

Hearing her, Carly and Sam did a quick scan of the store. Freddie wasn't anywhere in sight...and neither were Spencer, Gibby, Hiccup, Snotlout and Tuffnut, for that matter. As if on cue, Carly's phone began to beep. Spencer had sent her a text. "Where are they...? Oh, _no."_

* * *

They could hear Freddie's screams from _outside_ the studio.

"Freddie! Spencer!" Carly yelled as she yanked open the door. "I _told_ you that you both had to stop - _**YIKES!"**_

"Oh, wow," said Astrid, surprised.

"Freddie, what are you doing?" asked Melanie, worried.

"What's it look like he's doing?" answered Sam, elated.

The blades hissed through the air as Freddie frantically tried to deflect his opponent's seeming effortless jabs and swings. Seeing that Freddie was weakening, the other fencer made one last strike; but instead of merely landing a touch on his opponent's chest, he skillfully flipped Freddie's sword out of his hand and caught it himself...in his _right_ hand. He'd been fencing with his left one the whole time.

"Is that...?" Astrid whispered incredulously.

Sure enough, the other boy pulled off his fencing mask, revealing the grinning face of Hiccup. "Did you guys _see_ that? Oh, you've _got _to try this. Wanna do it again, Freddie?"

Spencer, who was sitting on the bleachers watching the whole fight, leaned over towards the girls. "If he asks you to fence, just say no."

"Why - "

**"Just say no."**

* * *

"You've _seriously_ never had anything like this before?"

"No..."

The Vikings suspiciously eyed the slice of Galini's Coconut Cream Pie that their friends were expecting Hiccup to eat. The fact that Carly, Sam, Freddie and Spencer all had cameras pointed at him while he did it wasn't helping. As he cautiously scooped up a spoonful of the pie, they all pressed the play button and watched with anticipation. "I _still_ don't see what the big deal is," he said as he started chewing. "It's not..._**Thor Almighty!**_ What _is_ this?" he asked excitedly.

_"Behold_ the power of a Galini pie," Sam said victoriously. "Do _not_ doubt its powers."

* * *

"Is it...safe?"

"Totally," Spencer assured Tuffnut. "You just stick this on your head and get on. Now, let's see to that canadian bacon."

"Wait, what?"

_"To Canada! ONWARD!"_

_"Where?_ Spencer...wait...what...AAAAAHHHH!"

Tuffnut grabbed onto Spencer for dear life as the motorcycle screeched out of the parking lot and sped off down the street.

* * *

"So is it common for food here to come on sticks?"

"No, _that's_ just a T-Bo thing. So what'd you think of the smoothies?"

_"Amazing,"_ continued Hiccup. "I had _no idea..."_

Melanie joined him and Carly on the living room couch. "Yeah, I didn't expect - woah, Hunter, have you been walking on that all day?"

"What?" Hiccup asked, still not used to his fake name.

"Your leg! Is it all right?"

The friends had unanimously decided that, for obvious reasons, Hiccup's prosthetic would have to be disguised. They had gone with Spencer's idea, which was hiding most of it with blue jeans, shoving a sneaker over the rest of it, then attaching a leg brace around the whole thing.

"It's nothing, really," Hiccup said quickly.

"Are you sure? How'd it happen?"

Carly and Hiccup both froze. Their friends all turned to stare at the scene. No one had thought to make up a story for the injury.

"...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have - "

"No, it's fine. I...I...took a pretty big fall."

_"Ouch._ That's awful."

"Oh, it could've been _way_ worse. I was pretty lucky, believe it or not. My leg's never really been the same since, though."

"Yeah, _that's_ the truth," Snotlout added sarcastically. He was quickly silenced by a collective glare from the others.

Sam's cell phone began to ring. After looking at who it was, she held it to her ear and said, "If you don't have a recording of it, then I didn't do it...what? She is? Okay, cool, I'll be down there. Yes, thank you. Bye." She hung up. "Mom's finished at the police station. Melanie and I gotta go."

"Wait, why'd the police call you?" Melanie asked.

"We meet up a _lot,"_ her sister casually remarked. "See you tomorrow, guys!" she called as she and Melanie headed out the door. With a loud slam, she was gone.

Crystal peered out cautiously from underneath the couch, looking around to see if the strange new girl had gone. "Coast is clear, girl. Come on out," Carly said, picking up the dragon. She sighed as she leaned back and let her eyes close. Between keeping up the false identities and repeatedly explaining to Snotlout and the twins the concept of _buying_ things, it had been a long day.

"You're so lucky, Freddie," Fishlegs said, still staring at the door. "How did you get her to like you so much?"

"Believe me, I wish I knew. That way I could do the exact _opposite,"_ he answered. "If you could get her to like you, you could _have _her."

_"Really?"_ Fishlegs exclaimed joyously. The other Vikings rolled their eyes.

"Yeah...I better get going. Mom comes after me with some weird tracker thing if I'm not back by nine-thirty. Bye, guys!"

"See ya!" Spencer called back as the door shut. "All right, now who wants to watch _The Alien, Th_e _Space Hamster and The Burrito_?"

"No one," Carly answered. "Besides, it's getting late."

"Yeah, I hear you got a new class starting tomorrow."

"The new...? _Oh."_

* * *

**Next chapter: With Nevel at the teacher's desk, it won't take long for trouble to start...will it? No, of course it won't.**

***ducks to avoid sharp objects* DON'T KILL ME! I know you all really want to for taking so long to update, but I've got a lot to worry about right now. Rest assured, I'm not abandoning the story, but it's far from being the most important thing in my life at the moment. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, though. I promise to start the next one as soon as possible.**

**~A. Kingsleigh  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: It's not mine, and that may actually be a good thing.**

* * *

It was time. The Hour of Despair had finally arrived.

Carly nervously glanced at the clock for the fifth time in the last minute. It was almost 8:45 and the class was supposed to start any minute now, yet she hadn't seen Nevel at all when she'd come in. _Who knows what he's planning?_ She briefly observed her classmates; most everyone looked tired, Freddie was fidgeting and stealing glances at the door, Gibby looked like he was considering the possibility of hiding in the closet and Sam was slowly torturing several defenseless pieces of notebook paper. Amanda, however, was a different story. For fifteen minutes she'd been sitting excitedly at her desk, flipping through her "reporters' book," reviewing her notes and eagerly watching the clock. Carly stifled a groan - she'd forgotten all about that interview with _Mr. Papperman._ No doubt she and the others would hear it later, in all its excruciating detail.

The ticking of the clock seemed to echo ominously throughout the room as the second hand approached the 12 mark. When it struck, the bell announcing class abruptly went off as the door to the room swung open. But the person who stepped inside wasn't Nevel...it was a tall, pale, gaunt, dark-haired man in a pristine black business suit, carrying a large briefcase. He disdainfully observed the various students before resting his gaze on Carly...but he quickly looked away, shut the door and walked to the desk. He clicked open the briefcase and began to pull out various folders, papers and pens, setting them down in front of the desk's chair. His work seemingly done, he shut the briefcase and brusquely strode to the window, where he stood coldly. For several more seconds, there was silence...

**"Ha-**_**HA!"**_

The students screamed as a small figure abruptly shot up from behind the desk, laughing maniacally as he did so. "Just wanted to see if you were still awake," he chirped gleefully. "But it looks like that won't be necessecary because you're all _so excited!"_ He laughed at his own handiwork before settling down. "Now that we've got that out of the way, _good morning._ My name is Nevel Amadeus Papperman, but please call me Mr. Nevel." He was met with blank stares. "I know what you're thinking; why'd they get a kid to teach this class? It's quite simple, really - I am the founder of a successful website which receives - "

He was interrupted by a loud bang as something loudly collided with the classroom door, followed by the doorknob starting to jiggle furiously. "It...won't..._open!"_ a voice shouted from the other side...Snotlout's voice, to be exact.

"Come on, it turns, it _turns..."_

The doorknob violently twisted to the right and the door swung open at an alarmingly fast rate, sending the Vikings, Melanie and Spencer all stumbling into the room.

_Oh my god._

"Either slam into the thing or open it, but _don't_ do both, okay?" Astrid said, trying to regain her balance.

"What is it? WHERE IS IT! _**WHAT'S ON FIRE?"**_ Fishlegs was shrieking.

"Guys, guys, it's just the bell!" Spencer said in an attempt to calm him down. "It just means the next class is starting."

"So...why'd you tell us to run for our lives?" Hiccup asked.

"Excuse me, hello, _what is this?"_ Nevel snapped irritably.

"Oh, it's nothing, Nevel." Spencer did a double-take. _"Nevel?"_

"Yes?"

"Uhh...you're...but you don't...where's the teacher?"

"I _am_ the teacher."

Spencer's eyes widened in shock as he cautiously glanced at his little sister for confirmation and received a grim nod in response. "...Wut...?"

"Now, you'd better have a good reason for all _that," _Nevel said maliciously as he locked his gaze on Spencer, scaring him even more.

"These...these guys are new here. First day. Don't worry, I checked with Principal Franklin, it's cool. So _they're _in this class, and _I'm_ just gonna...gotta-go-now-BYE!" And with that, Spencer bolted out the door.

Nevel glared at Hiccup, who stammered, "Um...it w-won't happen again?"

"I _hope_ it doesn't..."

"Oh, we won't be any trouble. I'm Melanie, and these are Hunter, Ashley, Felix, Ramona, Terrence and Sean. We're Carly's friends."

"But I had _no_ idea they'd be here today!"

Nevel eyed the newcomers with suspicion. "Oh, fair enough," he sighed at last. "You'll have some desks tomorrow, there's some chairs in the back for today. _Now then,_ as I was _saying,_ I am founder of the world-famous Nevelocity, which is only one of _the_ most respected and visited reviewing websites in the _world_, receiving five million page views per day..."

Sam rolled her eyes and raised her hand.

"Yes, Sam? Do you have either a question or a non-insulting comment about my fabulous - "

"Why's Creepy there keep starin' at me?" the blonde said, nodding at the man in the business suit, who was indeed staring at her intently.

"Oh, but we _both_ forget our manners...everyone, I'd like you to meet my assistant for this class. Please welcome Mr. Albert...oh, what is it again?"

"Trengrove," the man replied in a deep, more-than-somewhat annoyed voice. "Albert Trengrove, founder and CEO of Trengrove Genetics and Cloning Research. A new company, nothing big yet. Mr. Papperman requested that I help him gather information for the section of the course concerning the field of genetic experimentation."

"Woah, woah, _woah,"_ Sam responded. "You're gonna talk at us about _that_ weird stuff, Papperman? Are you _serious? Why?"_

"...Sam..." warned Freddie.

"Because," Nevel replied coolly, "there's more to technology than PearPods and _webcams."_

* * *

In fact, it seemed as though in Nevel's eyes, PearPods and webcams were not technology at all. After a lengthy speech about how wonderful science and technology were and how the world would still be run by cavemen if they didn't exist, he jumped right into the subject of cloning; DNA and how it could be broken apart, added to and re-arranged, how the harvest of stem cells was used for research and therapeutic processes, methods of cloning, animals that had been cloned, attempts to clone humans, whether the whole thing was safe or not.

Freddie almost _fell asleep,_ and Gibby did after just a few minutes. Sam passed the time by doodling pictures of Nevel in humiliating and/or excruciatingly painful situations. Amanda took several pages of notes and paid so much attention it was creepy. Carly tried to listen to the lecture, but she kept stealing glances at Mr. Trengrove - after introducing himself, he hadn't spoken once during the class. He just stood next to Nevel, occasionally placing papers and folders in front of him. Most of the time, his gaze seemed to wonder over the students, examining each of them closely. It seemed to Carly as though every time she looked up, he was staring at _her._ And so he was, for eventually he stopped observing the others and focused on Carly and the Vikings...especially Hiccup.

"Well, I suppose that wraps it up for today," Nevel said cheerfully, getting Carly's attention again. "I hope you learned quite a few things on your first day with me!"

The only response was the sarcastic clapping of Sam. "Oh, yeah, _I _learned plenty," she quipped.

Nevel smirked. "Oh, and one more thing...Sam, you have dentention. Tomorrow night."

_"WHAT?" _ yelled Carly, Sam and Freddie in unison, but they were drowned out by the sound of the bell.

"Nevel, we gotta talk," Carly said, she and her friends approaching Nevel as the other students filed out.

Nevel eyed her. "Well, for _you,_ I suppose," he answered.

"Can you _please_ give Sam dentention another day? _Any_ other day?"

"Why's that?" he asked, but they could tell he already knew the answer.

"We...do iCarly tomorrow night."

Nevel smiled craftily. "I'm afraid I can't change it. I'll be overseeing it myself and I'm on a tight schedule..."

"But we can't do it without Sam!"

**"Exactly."**

"You little..." Sam began, but Carly stopped her.

"...You little _genius?_ Why, yes I am."

"Why is it that your life won't be complete until you destroy iCarly, Nevel?" Freddie said angrily.

"It won't be...I have two dreams; destroy iCarly, and open my own haberdashery."

After a moment of silence, Ruffnut spoke up. "And that is...?"

"Oh, _**why does everyone ASK THAT?"**_ Nevel shrieked before storming out of the room. A second later, he stormed back in and quickly said, "A haberdashery is a men's retail shop that sells men's accessories such as wallets, hats, buttons, belts, ribbons, and _**zippers!"**_ With a huff, he stormed out again, followed by Mr. Trengrove, who gave the kids a smug look before shutting the door behind him.

"I...still don't get it."

"Of course you don't, you're a _girl."_

"Shut it, gut-breath."

_"Wow,"_ said Hiccup. "The insecurity level with that guy is _ridiculous."_

* * *

**Next chapter: Once again, iCarly has lost its co-host. Can she be replaced in time?**

**Well, what did you think? Was it funny? Did I get Nevel down right? Are you intrigued? I do hope all the answers are 'yes!' I'll start the next chapter soon, but I have to go now...tonight, I plan to get my first taste of Mystery Science Theater 3000! Buh-bye!**

**~A. Kingsleigh**


	6. Chapter 6

**New developments since I last wrote: improv shows, testings, Taylor Swift albums and **_**THOR!**_** No, I haven't actually seen it yet...but I **_**really want to!**_** I don't care if it's that good or not, it sounds **_**SO AWESOME!**_** And I've heard it's really - **

_**Er, Miss Kingsleigh? Remember the chapter? The CHAPTER? Miss, you need to...**_

**YOU ****DARE**** THREATEN ****ME, THE **_**GREAT **_** A. KINGSLEIGH?**** YOU ****INSIGNIFICANT**** *is tased***

_**That's quite enough of that, darling. Goodness, I don't know how you're going to make it to the DVD release, let alone The Avengers. Very sorry about that, everyone. Miss Kingsleigh should be back to herself in a short while. Please enjoy the next chapter.**_

_**DISCLAIMER: Miss Kingsleigh does not own the Nickelodeon show "iCarly" nor the DreamWorks Animation film "How to Train Your Dragon," though she wishes she did. As her dark side, I can attest to this.**_

_**NOTE: The iCarly segment in this chapter is taken from an actual clip found on the iCarly website, and Miss Kingsleigh does not own it. She has, however, made slight alterations to it so it will fit better within the story.**_

* * *

"Spencer?" asked Hiccup.

"I've got an interview about a new sculpture."

"We could always use Gibby - "

"Date with Tasha."

_"Again?"_

"...Melanie?" Carly reluctantly suggested.

_"Wow,_ are we really this desperate?" Sam remarked.

"So what exactly are you guys doing again?" Ruffnut asked, stretched out on the floor of the iCarly studio and paying no attention to the conversation taking place.

"We gotta find someone to replace Sam on iCarly," Freddie answered.

"Why can't you do it?" Astrid said to him. "You've done it before, right?"

"Yes, but we happen to _like_ our viewers," Sam replied.

Freddie rolled his eyes. "Whatever. But I swear, I'm cancelling the thing if it comes down to doing 'live from detention' again."

"Couldn't. Nevel's gonna be in charge," Carly reminded him.

"Why do you guys hate that kid?" Ruffnut piped up. "Has he done anything really bad to _you?"_

Wordlessly, Sam stood up, walked to Freddie's laptop and calmly began to type. "Come on, where is it..."

"Where's _what?"_

_**"This!"**_ Sam yelled as she victoriously clicked the mouse. "Now," she continued as the TV swung out from the wall, _"watch."_

The image of a very smug Nevel appeared on screen, wearing two crudely-made sock puppets of Carly and Sam. "Hello! I'm Nevel Papperman!" he announced happily. "Welcome to the _new_ iCarly! And now, Carly and Sam are going to _visit my underarms."_

Sam nodded approvingly as she saw the Vikings' horrified reactions to what came next. "...Yeah..."

"Whoops, we can't breathe! _TOO BAD! Ah-ha-HA!"_

"No, he _isn't_ very nice to us, thank you for noticing."

* * *

"Okay, so which Messin' With Lewbert clip do we want after the Wedgie Bounce? The vending machine or the golf balls in the...Carly, are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh...the...vending machine."

They were supposed to be on the air in an hour. Without a replacement for Sam, Carly and Freddie had resorted to putting together a clip show for this week. Carly hadn't liked the idea at all, and it seemed as though she still didn't.

Freddie sighed. "Alright - how do you feel about using the Plain White T's footage?"

"We're _letting_ him win, you know."

_"No,_ we're _not._ Look, we're still doing the show tonight, Carly." No response. "It's almost ready. Just let me test some stuff and we're all set." With a few clicks of the keyboard, the TV swung out and started playing the "Messin' with Lewbert" clips they'd been talking about. Neither of them noticed Hiccup quietly come into the room, notice the video and start watching. "What is he _doing?"_ he asked presently, watching the doorman scream get buried in golf balls.

"Oh, that was us," Carly answered. "It was on the show."

"That's...pretty funny, actually."

Freddie grinned. "You think _that's_ funny?" he replied as he fast-forwarded the video. "Check _this_ out."

Hiccup laughed out loud when he saw the vending machine prank. "Clever!"

"Ain't it just?" Carly said jokingly.

"Well, we're set...hey, you wanna see some more stuff?"

"Sure!"

The remaining time flew by as they showed Hiccup more clips. Carly was pleased to see her friend enjoying himself. He seemed to really like the show - _that's it!_

"Don't you guys have to start in a few minutes?"

"Yeah, but we..."

"Yes, we do!" Carly said suddenly, rising up. "Freddie, get the camera ready."

"What?"

"We're doing the show tonight...I got an idea."

* * *

"...And we're live on the web in 5, 4, 3, 2 - "

_"Yo_ to the _people!"_

"Cheers!"

"I'm Carly!"

"And I'm Freddie!"

"Welcome to the show! Sam won't be here tonight..."

"Which is _always _nice."

"...Yeah...but don't worry; we got an _awesome_ co-host for tonight."

"He's new here in Seattle and he's tons of fun..."

"...So give it up for our pal, _Hunter!"_

As Freddie pushed the applause button on the remote, Hiccup cautiously emerged from backstage and stared at the camera.

"Viewers, Hunter," said Carly. "Hunter, viewers!"

"...They're _watching_ us..."

"And that's _all_ they're gonna be doing, dude," Freddie answered, trying to be comforting.

When Hiccup nodded, Carly spoke up again. "First, we're gonna show you guys a Baby Spencer video," she said to the audience as Freddie rushed back to his laptop. "Do babies like peanut butter or jelly? We stuffed _both_ of them in Spencer mouth to find out which he likes best! Freddie?"

"...It's not working."

"Wait, what do you mean."

"I mean it won't start up and..._¡Oh, querido Dios mío."_

"What's going on?"

"It _deleted itself!"_ Freddie shrieked in a whisper. "It just _deleted itself!"_

Carly and Hiccup exchanged worried glances, then turned back to the camera. "Um...okay, we're having a little trouble with our video, so we're just gonna move on to the next thing we got planned. Stay tuned for a Pathetic Play!"

"Carly, _what are you thinking?"_ Freddie asked once she and Hiccup had rushed offscreen. "We don't even have one planned!"

"...We'll do that Scotsman one we were gonna do next week. Hiccup can do Gibby's part."

"I'm sorry, _what?"_ Hiccup asked incredulously.

"It'll be okay. We're just gonna act out a little skit," Freddie explained. "Now, do you think you can pull off a Scottish accent? Like Gobber's or your dad's?"

Hiccup just stared at Carly and Freddie for a moment, then looked like he was nearly going to burst out laughing as his face broke into an almost mischievous grin.

"Um...is that a yes?" asked Carly.

"Just get ready, guys."

* * *

_"iCarly presents: another Pathetic Play. This week, we have a new production...__**The Scotsman Who Was A Terrible Uncle To His Niece And Nephew, Fuffley and Peeta!**__ With Special Guest Star, Hunter!"_

Carly still wasn't sure what was going to happen. They'd never rehearsed this one before, Hiccup had been flung into the middle of it...and the Peeta wig was itchy.

Freddie glanced at the rolling camera, then back at Hiccup. Their friend hadn't seemed very enthusiastic about wearing a plaid hat, fake moustache and kilt, but he hadn't complained about it. At the moment he was hunched over the plate of spicy tuna like he was supposed to be. "Um...Uncle?" he asked in his fake English accent, beginning the scene.

Abruptly, Hiccup sprung to life. _"What?"_ he asked angrily in the thickest and funniest Scottish accent Carly and Freddie had ever heard. "Why do yeh call me _name?"_

Carly had to keep her jaw from dropping. _What the...wow!_ "It's just, we're your niece and nephew," she said, trying hard to stay in character. "Father sent us here for you to take _care_ of us."

"Can't _we_ have something to eat also?"

_"No, no, __**NO!"**_

"But our most recent meal was a fortnight ago!"

"We're ever so hungry!"

"Couldn't we have just a _squibble _of your food?"

"If yer so _hungry,_ yeh can squibble yer own _fingers!"_

"But, Uncle - "

_"THESE ARE ME STRAWBERRIES! __**MINE!"**_

"...But Uncle," Carly began again after catching her breath to keep from laughing, "those aren't strawberries at all."

"You're eating spicy _tew-na."_

"..._Wut?"_

More restrained giggling from Carly. "Those items you're chewing...spicy _tew-na."_

Then they got to the best part. "You _HOBNOCKIN' TROLL-HUNTIN' TALKIN' FISHBONES!"_ Hiccup shrieked, clearly loving every bit of this. "Have yeh the attention span of a _sparrow?_ Yeh think I'm _stupid?"_

"No, Uncle!"

"We would never call you _stew-pid!"_

"Yeh think I don't know the difference betwixst a _strawberry_ and _spicy tuna?"_ he asked, then overdramatically flung the spicy tuna offscreen before sitting back in his chair to pout.

_Deep breaths, Carls._ "We're sorry, Uncle..."

"We should never have contradicted you by explaining that your strawberries were spicy _tew-na."_

"Just let me eat my strawberries in _peace..."_ Hiccup glanced back down at the now-empty plate. He was silent for a moment, then his eye twitched ever so slightly. Then he exploded. _**"Who took me STRAWBERRIES?"**_

"Wut?"

"No one!"

"I had a _multitude _o' strawberries on this plate, and now they've _vanished!"_

"But, Uncle..."

"You flung them away!"

"In-_deed!"_

"AUDACITY! Yeh both ought tae bang yer heads against rocks fer yer defiance! Never in me thirty-nine years have I ever flung a flock o' strawberries!"

"All right! Very well!"

"We are sorry we said you flung your strawberries when it clearly...never...happened..."

"Forgive us!"

Carly had given up trying not to smile at Hiccup's antics...but the worst was yet to come. Hiccup gave them both a long death glare, then whipped off the plaid hat and said with the utmost solemnity, "Brush me _hair."_

It was _too much._ Carly clasped her hand over her mouth as she and Freddie began to brush Hiccup's hair while he laughed maniacally, ending the scene.

Freddie jumped up and grabbed the camera. "O-_kay,_ we hope you enjoyed that. Up next, Carly is going to answer..."

But Carly had collapsed on the floor in a fit of hysterical laughter.

* * *

"How did you _do that?"_ Carly asked Hiccup as they headed downstairs after the webshow.

"Been doing imitations of Dad for years," he answered.

"That explains the 'bang head on rock' part," Freddie remarked. "I was wondering where..."

At that moment, though, he was abruptly knocked aside as Sam raced up the stairs towards them. "You guys were _awesome!"_ she yelled. "Well, except for the laugh attack. But before that it was _awesome!"_

"Sam, what are you doing here? You don't get out until - "

"Papperman had to go to the bathroom and we all snuck out the window. Watched the show on my phone. Man, that kid has a bladder of...what's tougher than steel?"

"Hiccup, apparently," Ruffnut answered from the computer, where Gibby, Crystal and the other Vikings were clustered.

"Dude, that was true bravery right there," her brother added.

"I had no idea you were gifted with 50 plus Dramatics!"

Astrid merely rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It was all right."

Snotlout gave her a weird look. "You were laughing _hard_ when tossed that plate."

Astrid shot him an annoyed glare. "Well...okay, you did good. None of us would have, anyway."

"That's telling the truth!" Gibby piped up. "I _try_ to do Scottish, but English is _so much easier..."_

Freddie flopped onto the couch as Crystal began chirping with glee. "And the day is saved once again..."

At that moment, there was a rapid knocking on the door. "CARLY!"

Everyone froze. "...Amanda?"

"We gotta talk. About your friends. _Now."_

* * *

**Next chapter: Oh, maldita. Will this nosy reporter be uncovering more facts than our heroes want her to know?**

**I SAW THOR, I SAW THOR, ****I SAW THOR!**

_**Yes, I know. Stop yelling in my ear.**_

**What, you didn't like it?**

_**No, I liked it quite a lot. Mr. Hemsworth was exceedingly pretty, if I do say so myself.**_

**Ah, why won't you just admit that Loki was your favorite - hey, everyone! Hope you liked this chapter. Sorry it took so long to get here, though! My schedule is TIGHT.****By the way, I recommend you watch the video that the Scotsman skit was based on. In real life it's just another Englishman skit, but that doesn't make it any less funny. Yes, most of that dialogue was lifted straight from the clip, except where it's obviously Hiccup. Fuffley and Peeta the troll-hunting talking fishbones, anyone?**

**Au revoir!**

_**Toodle-oo!**_

**~A. Kingsleigh, **and_** Miss Kingsleigh's Dark Side.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, people, show of (virtual) hands: anyone here ever been to a Ren Faire? Because I'll have you know, it's the only place where you'll see a Plague Doctor, a live four-foot tall owl, see a living chess match where the pieces engage in armed combat when they want to capture each other and meet a trio of pirates named Errol Flynn, Malcolm Reynolds and Bucky. Such was my time at the faire this year. Of course, my dark side has YET to apologize for tasing me last chapter -**

_**The NAME is CHARLOTTE. Charlotte Cordelia Harker, to be exact.**_

**W...T...H? Okay, girl; remember what the book said. I'm not supposed to NAME it...if I NAME it, I'm admitting that it EXISTS...**

_**As you SHOULD be. And I'm not apologizing for last chapter's incident anytime soon, Ack.**_

**...Dude. We need to have a talk. Now.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own iCarly or HTTYD.**

_**She means WE don't.**_

**Shut up.**

* * *

"Carly, _let me in."_

It seemed like an eternity before anyone moved...and even then, it wasn't one of the kids. It was Crystal, yawning and stretching before nodding at the door and then quietly scampering up the stairs.

"Um...come in," said Astrid.

_Oh, please just come right out and say it,_ thought Carly as the door opened.

Amanda was definitely prepared for something; she'd brought three notepads, a pencil case, a large binder and her camera. One could practically see the determination oozing from her gaze as she looked her victims over, murmuring quietly to herself.

Sam began. "Look, we can explain - "

"Don't," Amanda said curtly. She approached the Vikings. "So...let's talk about _you."_

Hiccup briefly shot a glance at his still-disguised leg. "About...us?"

"Yeah! I mean, Mr. Papperman was _so helpful_ during our interview, but _the whole time_ I just couldn't stop thinking about _you guys._ It was like you'd never _been_ to school before." She sat down on the couch. "I'd like to learn more about you."

_This is __**worse.**_

Hiccup froze. "You mean, like...ask us questions?"

"I need you guys' help with something...all of you." She flipped open one of her notepads and started skimming through it. "You see, I've gotten _so much _material about Mr. Papperman already, and I just don't know what to do with it all. And he says he wants to have more interviews! So...I was wondering...if..._will you be my assistants?"_

"What?" everyone asked.

_"My assistants on the Papperman story!_ I can't do it all by myself! I need help taking notes of everything he says and figuring out what should go and what shouldn't and arranging everything! _Please?"_

"...Well..."

"No way!" Sam interjected. "Maybe _you're_ willing to play fangirl to that nub just so you can get out of here, but _I'm_ above that, and so are the rest of us."

**"SAM!"**

Amanda looked hurt. "Well...a-all right, then," she stammered as she slowly stood and dejectedly walked to the door. On the threshold, she paused and turned back around. "You know...if you ever change your minds...I would do you a favor."

Sam rolled her eyes. "And what's _that?"_

"Ask Mr. Papperman to stop bothering you," she answered faithfully.

"Amanda, that's real nice," Carly sighed, "but he's never gonna do that."

"Yeah, he would. He _really_ wants me to write this story about him. If you were my assistants I'd tell him to knock it off or we'll report on something else."

Carly looked back at the others. To her surprise, they were all nodding and mouthing 'Say yes!' Sam, of course, was shaking her head, but quickly stopped after getting a dark look from Astrid for it. She looked back at Amanda. "Actually...we'd _all_ _**love**__ to."_

In an instant, Amanda was squeeing and tightly hugging Carly. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you! You guys won't regret this, I _promise!_ We're gonna have so much _fun..."_

Sam didn't even try to stifle her groan as Amanda plopped back down on the couch and opened the binder. "Okay, everyone come here. Take a look at these notes. I want to do a paragraph about Mr. Papperman's hobbies. He gave me some of his poetry, do you think I should quote it?"

"Do you wanna come in last place?" quipped Freddie.

* * *

"Hey, guys!" Spencer yelled as he arrived home an hour later. "Socco texted me about the webshow, he said it was totally awesome so..."

"SPENCER!" Snotlout yelled as he jumped from the couch and sank to his knees. _"Please_ start talking about something that _isn't the Nevel kid."_

"...Uhhh..."

"He's just been at this a while," Amanda explained, the only girl in the room who seemed to be still awake - all the other girls were lying on the couch with their eyes closed, breathing slowly. "Carly and her friends are helping me with my article, and it's been _so much_ fun for them. Right, guys?"

Freddie appeared to be in a daze. "...Seriously, who still says they've got an _affinity_ for something?"

"What does that even _mean?"_ groaned Hiccup.

Even Spencer could tell that they'd had enough. "Hey, Amanda, it's getting kinda late and you guys have school tomorrow..."

"Okay, Spencer," Amanda replied. "I'm going!" she said to the teens as she gathered her things. "Don't forget, we've got an interview with Mr. Papperman after Technology class tomorrow!"

_"Interview?"_ Snotlout squeaked, but Amanda was already on her way out.

The minute the door slammed, the girls' eyes abruptly snapped open and they all sat up calmly. "Well, whaddaya know," Ruffnut said, "that trick _does_ work."

Freddie glared at them for a while before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "Why didn't _I_ think of that..."

* * *

The next morning found the teens huddled around their lockers, chatting anxiously about Nevel. To say that they weren't looking forward to that interview was an understatement.

"It's _class_ I'm worried about," Hiccup was saying. "What do you think we'll...huh, that's weird."

"Weird that Sam's eating Fat Cakes for breakfast _and_ lunch?" Freddie quipped. "Trust me, that's not weird."

Sam rolled her eyes, grabbed Freddie's shoulders and spun him around. "Not _that._ That!"

Nevel was strutting down the hall toward the teachers' lounge...accompanied by Mr. Trengrove.

"Yeah, so? _He's_ a teacher, _he's_ the assistant."

"...Just for the cloning stuff," Carly said, starting to catch on.

"Wait, we didn't get any homework about the cloning stuff," said Gibby.

"HEY, YOU! **GET TO CLASS!"**

Hiccup shrieked as Miss Briggs yelled into her bullhorn at him, inches from his ear. _"Why would you do that?"_ he asked as he hid behind Astrid.

"Yeah, class doesn't start for fifteen minutes, Miss Briggs."

"Really? In that case, HEY, YOU! **PREPARE FOR CLASS!"**

"Um, can we ask you a question?" Carly said quickly.

_"Make it quick."_

"Do you know if Nevel's still going to talk about cloning today?"

"I heard him saying he'd finished with that yesterday," Miss Briggs answered as she walked off, having spotted more students to terrorize.

The teens glanced questioningly back at the spot where Mr. Trengrove had been. Even Gibby seemed to understand that _something_ was wrong here.

"Hi!" chirped Amanda as she rushed up to them. "You guys ready for class? Oh, I _can't wait_ for our interview, it's gonna be the _big one,_ I just know it..."

"Yeah, sure," they mumbled as the followed her, with a sarcastic "Go Nevel!" from Sam. Carly, however, paused for a moment, glancing back at the door to the teachers' lounge.

"...Yesterday..."

* * *

**Next chapter: New pieces of the puzzle come to light as our heroes commence their interview with Nevel.**

_**Miss Kingsleigh, anything you'd like to say regarding moi?**_

**Um...yes. Everyone, this is CC Harker...yes, that's her name now. I told her she **_**had**_** to choose a nickname, 'cuz I was NOT calling her Charlotte Cordelia. Anyway, we've got all that worked out, so she's gonna be staying here. As for that 'Ack' thing at the beginning of the chapter? Well, she figured out how my name sounds when it's just the initials. That's coming from a girl who **_**couldn't decide**_** between the names Charlotte and Cordelia and chose Harker as her last name.**

_**We are ENJOYING that book!**_

**Yes, we are. And we're also going to settle this elsewhere so our readers can get back to their lives. Bye, everyone! Please review!  
**

**~A. Kingsleigh **and _**CC Harker**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, everyone! We've been running my little brother back and forth to camp and doing major renovations to the house, so I haven't been able to do much writing. There's also the small matter of CC refusing to help with this chappie...she got INCREDIBLY mad at me 'cuz I kept covering my eyes during **_**X-Men: First Class**_** and won't speak to me. Not that I particularly mind the absence of Miss Nightmare Fetishist...oh, well. Enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: All I own is the laptop I'm writing this on.**

* * *

"And _that_ is a brief overview of the phenomena commonly associated with an Einstein-Rosen bridge," Nevel said. "Tomorrow we discuss the metrics and Raychaudhuri's theorem, so _study up!"_

"You guys ready for this?" Amanda asked excitedly as the group gathered their things.

"To be in the presence of the _great Mr. Papperman?"_ Hiccup asked. "I could _drop dead_ from all this excitement." Luckily, his sarcastic drawl went unnoticed, because Nevel and Mr. Trengrove were now approaching them.

"Miss Clark! How wonderful to see you...and your _friends,"_ Nevel said.

"They're gonna be my assistants, Mr. Papperman. You're so interesting I just can't get it all down by myself!"

"...Then we're _delighted_ to have them here," he answered, putting on a saccharine smile. Carly and her friends just glared. "Unfortunately, I'll have to cut this a little short today. Mr. Trengrove and I are going out to work on our new project."

Amanda's eyes lit up. "Could you tell us about this project?"

"It's highly classified, Miss Clark," Trengrove snapped.

"Oh, we can let her know the basic details," Nevel said. "It's not like anyone _important_ will see that silly little paper of hers."

_He called her paper silly __**right in front of her?**_ Carly thought. _And she __**still**__ worships him? Man, I feel sorry for her._

Trengrove sighed irritably. "Very well...make careful notes of this, children, because I'm _not_ repeating it." He spoke in a quiet, almost prophetic tone. "Mr. Papperman and I are hard at work on a new cloning project. A project that will _forever_ alter that field of the sciences, our very _structure of society._ Once we unveil our work, I can assure you that this world will _never_ be the same."

Carly realized that her hands were trembling. She glanced at her friends; Sam's eyebrows were raised in surprise, Freddie was twitching and clearly trying not to yell and even Astrid looked pretty uncomfortable. Hiccup was looking at Trengrove intensely. "What do you mean?"

Trengrove just smiled. _"You,_ my friend, will know it when you see it."

At this, Carly couldn't suppress her shudder. _"Okay,_ while that's incredibly interesting, I say we move on to slightly more _normal_ topics. Nevel, care to comment on the rumors that you'll be reviewing those _Galaxy Wars_ webisodes later this year?"

* * *

"You okay, Sam?" Hiccup asked his friend later in the day. Amanda had wanted to sort the notes from the interview herself, so the teens were having lunch without her, thankful for the break.

"It's nothing."

"Come on, you can tell us."

"...That Trengrove dude was freaking me out. Was he freaking you out?"

"What, him?" Hiccup asked. "No, not really...I know he seems kind of...scary...but he just doesn't want to be bothered..."

"It seemed - I dunno - kinda _familiar."_

_"I knew it!_ I'm _not_ crazy!"

"You really think so?" Carly asked. "Believe me, I would've remembered _that _guy."

"Maybe he's got some kind of disguise," Astrid suggested.

"He's probably a government agent out to arrest Sam," Freddie deadpanned. "Again."

_"That..._is entirely plausible, considering my history."

"I know who he could be!" Gibby said enthusiastically. "Mr. Trengrove is..." he paused for effect, "secretly a mad scientist."

"You mean like some kind of wizard?" Ruffnut answered.

"Of course he is! It all makes sense now!" her brother shouted. "He's evil and he's creating an army of monsters to take over the world!"

The looks he got from his friends were...disbelieving, to say the least.

* * *

Fishlegs readily admitted that stealth was _not_ his greatest strength, but he could handle himself quite well in a situation which absolutely required it. Like watching Sam's pretty sister.

He had decided not to join his friends for lunch and was currently in the school library, hiding behind a bookshelf, peeking at her through a small gap in the row of books. She was at one of the tables, making notes from a book. _She likes studying, too?_ Fishlegs was so wrapped up in his admiration of Melanie that he didn't notice he was trying to push the books further apart to get a better view...until they were falling off the shelf.

Upon hearing the noise, Melanie looked up. "Felix? Is that _you!"_

"Oh...OH! Hi, Melanie! I was just...looking at the nice books," he stammered as he quickly emerged from his hiding place and cleaned up his mess. "I'll be leaving now."

"Do you wanna study with me?"

"...Study? With you?"_ It's official. I'm dreaming._

"You looked like you were having a little trouble in the classes this morning."

"I didn't get what was so important about the bridge...people...thing."

"Einstein-Rosen Bridge?"

"It's just a _bridge."_

"Actually, most people call it a wormhole."

"Oh, so Einstein and Rosen were worms?"

She smiled. "No, silly. It's like a special gateway, one that goes to a different time or even a different universe."

"Wow...Is that what you're reading about now."

"No...this book's about dragons."

Fishlegs immediately perked up. _"Dragons?"_

"Yep. I want to learn everything I can about them. Mom says it's stupid of me, but..." she trailed off.

"What?" Fishlegs asked sincerely.

"...Oh, you don't want to hear."

"No, I do! I don't think you're stupid, Melanie."

"I...I want to find one someday. A lot of people think they're still alive somewhere."

Fishlegs was too stunned to even speak. He was sure now; the Gods had selected this girl just for him.

"Felix? _Felix?_ You okay, Felix?"

"Yes, I'm fine. So...what have you found out? About dragons, I mean."

She looked down at the book sadly. "Not much. They don't know what they used to."

"Well, I'm sure you'll...hey, is that a Gronckle?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Gronckles are some of the toughest dragons out there. Their speed is only a 3, but they've got thick skin and they're _covered_ in spikes and have fangs sharper than daggers. What makes them really special is their fire attack. They can shoot six fireballs at a time, but they can refill that by eating rocks and melting them in their stomachs. They're _terrifying_ when they're mad, and I haven't even told you about their _tail ram_ yet. But they're pretty lazy and can sleep through hailstorms and even doze off _while they're flying - "_

"Stop!" Melanie said, scribbling on her notes furiously. "I can't get it down fast enough...Felix, where'd you learn all that?"

"Well, I..." He just couldn't bring himself to lie to her.

"Yes?" she asked eagerly.

"Back where I come from, we've got a book. A book that says everything about dragons. I've read it, like, seven times! I could figure out their strengths and weaknesses just by looking at a good picture."

"That's _amazing!"_

"...You're the first person who's ever said that."

"Well, you should hear it more often."

"Thanks...Melanie."

"You're welcome."

"Hey...I've got an idea; I'd like to get to know you better. _You_ need help learning about dragons, and _I_ need help with the regular school stuff..."

"...So you want to study together?"

"Can we?"

"I'd _love_ to!"

At that moment, the bell rang.

"Sorry, I gotta get to class!" she said, hastily gathering her things with his help. "Come see me this evening?"

"Of course!"

As the two friends rushed out of the library, they failed to notice the figure who'd been watching them the whole time.

"So...it _is_ them."

* * *

**Next chapter:** **What's up with Nevel and Trengrove? Will the other teens find out about Fishlegs and Melanie? The plot is about to thicken **_**considerably.**_

**So I've noticed that your reviews have been asking pretty much the same thing; "Where's Toothless?" Well, at first, I wasn't quite sure how to include Toothless...**

_**...And as a result, she finally apologized to ME.**_

**Yes...anyway, you'll see what I have planned in the beginning of the next chapter! Buh-bye!**

**~A. Kingsleigh**

_**You forgot my name.**_

**Did not, Miss I-Refuse-To-Help.  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Blessed are the reviewers! I enjoyed reading all of your comments; they made most excellent birthday presents. That's right, I'm 15 now! Yay for me! I had such a fun day!**

_**Yes, her little brother came back from Wal-Mart with a DVD of Chicken Run, and she spent the rest of the evening babbling to me about how "birthday wishes DO come true!"**_

**ANYWAY...let's celebrate with a chapter of silliness and suspense! CC, detain the lawyers and engage Temporary POV Shift!**

_**She means to say that she doesn't own iCarly or How to Train Your Dragon. Shift engaging, Miss Kingsleigh. Change marked by italics.**_

* * *

_He had to get out of here._

_The Night Fury banged mercilessly at the strange force field preventing him from leaving the tiny cell, roaring in rage and despair. His rider was not far away, he could sense it. Now, if only he could __**leave...**_

_"I wouldn't bother, creature," a voice hissed smugly from the shadows outside.__** The tall one.**_

_Toothless snarled as the hated forms of his captors stepped into view. "He won't get out, will he?" the short companion of the first speaker asked._

_"Reinforced Plexiglass. Shatter-resistant. These beasts could splatter themselves all over the door and never __**dent**__ it."_

_Then what happens if I do __**this?**_

_Toothless stepped back and inhaled deeply, letting the fire build up. No prison walls could contain the fire attack of a Night Fury!_

_"Sir? Sir! He's going to - "_

_"No, he's not."_

_The tall one quickly pressed something on the wall, and Toothless screeched in disbelief as water came pouring down on him._

_"A dragon cannot light fire if its head is wet. You really must study up further."_

_Toothless retreated into a corner, angrily shaking off the water. This couldn't - __**wouldn't**__ - stop him. He would wait until they had gone, and then he would try once more._

_He had to find Hiccup._

* * *

Carly glared at the clock. "He was supposed to be here _twenty minutes ago."_

"So let's just start without him!" Sam said.

"This involves all of us."

The group was sitting on and around Carly's couch. After school, she had called them all to a meeting, saying that it was "about Nevel and _him." _Now, though, she was refusing to proceed because Fishlegs had failed to show up. While patience wasn't exactly the defining trait of a Viking, even Hiccup was quickly losing interest.

"I have to say, I kind of agree with her," Spencer said, pointing at Sam. "I mean, you guys have the advantage of a _vague concept_ with this and I have the feeling that I _don't wanna know what it is - "_

The door slammed open. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Fishlegs yelled as he rushed in, dropping books and papers everywhere. It was all he had time to say before he found himself surrounded by nine very, _very _not amused teens, one relieved Spencer and one hissing Terrible Terror.

"Well, it's _about time!"_

"Legs, where have you _been?"_

"I could've _died_ of boredom! You _can't_ fight boredom with your face, you know!"

"I didn't mean to!" he said hurriedly. "I was doing a little studying - "

"More like a _lot_ of studying," quipped Ruffnut, eying the books.

" - a _lot_ of studying and I forgot the meeting. I'm _sorry._ You guys didn't wait for me, did you?"

There was a moment of silence as everyone else visibly tried not to have a break with reality.

"O-_kay,_ we're going to pretend that last part didn't happen and get started," Carly said. "Trengrove is _weird._ Do we all agree?"

**_"Yes!"_**

"And he's _planning_ something with Nevel. Something really, really bad."

Tuffnut cleared his throat. "Once again, I'd like to present the 'army of monsters to take over the world' theory."

Carly rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Anyway, this is my idea; we find out what they're up to and _stop it."_

"I'm in," Hiccup said, going to stand next to Carly. "Anyone else?"

The others loudly voiced their agreement...except Fishlegs, who simply sat down nervously.

Spencer spoke up. "So, are we gonna tell someone about this...?"

"We tried," Freddie answered bluntly. "No one would listen, not even Principal Franklin believes us. It's gotta be just us - "

"I think we should tell Melanie."

Every pair of eyes in the room locked on Fishlegs, staring at him with incredulity.

Finally, they spoke up...at the same time. _"WHAT?"  
_

"I think it would be a good idea," he continued nervously. "She comes here a lot, doesn't she? We couldn't hide it forever. Who knows, maybe she's got the same ideas."

"Let me tell you something about Melanie," Sam said. "She wouldn't know something weird if it _slapped her across the face. _She's too obsessed with being all perfect and _annoying._ Anything other than that? _Oblivious to it!"_

"That's not true! She's nice and she's smart! I think she'd listen to us if we told her about this!"

"And why's that?"

"Why's...? Well, I..."

"Fishlegs?" It was Astrid. "What's _this?" _She was holding the dragon notes he'd written for Melanie. _Oh, **no.** "Well?" _she snapped.

"She's...studying..._that..._and I said I would help her."

Things went downhill from there.

_**"You WHAT?"**_

"I can explain - "

"We're doomed, I tell you! DOOMED!"

"They're gonna send the FBI after us!"

"We'll be _experimented on!"_

"Trengrove's gonna _take over the world!"_

"Okay, look, this is no time to panic," Carly said. "Screaming will get us nowhere and _oh, **who** am I kidding? WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"_

Fishlegs finally snapped. "Would you all just **listen to me** for a second?"

Shocked into silence, everyone looked at him.

He sighed. "It's like this; Melanie doesn't suspect _anything._ She just wants to learn about dragons, that's all. She told me that she couldn't find any real facts about them, and...well...you know me."

"Did you tell her about the book?" Hiccup asked after an awkward silence.

"Nothing specific."

Another awkward silence.

"We'll...think about it," Carly said at last.

"Think about it _hard,"_ Sam added, heading for the door. "That'd be the last thing we need: 'Like, OMG! The new kids at school are time-traveling Vikings and they're looking for their dragons! We should like, tell _everyone!'_ Repeat about _two hundred times..._I gotta get home." She opened the door...and they all froze.

On the opposite side of the threshold, notepad in one hand, voice recorder in the other, was Amanda.

For several seconds, time seemed to stop.

And then Amanda ran off.

_"GET HER!" _Carly screeched.

In a moment, they were all racing down the hallway after her. Spencer dashed ahead and around a corner, leaving the teens behind. "Amanda?" they heard him shout. "Amanda, come back here right...no, not in the face, not in the AUUUUUUGGGGGHHHH!" He staggered back around the corner, covering his eyes and groaning. "PEPPER SPRAY! BAD! PEPPER SPRAY BAD!"

Thinking quickly, Carly turned around and rushed back towards the apartment.

"Carls, _where are you going?"_ shouted Sam. But Carly had already made it back and was slamming the intercom button. "LEWBERT!" she was screaming. "Lewbert, **we need your help!"**

_"WHHHHYYYYY?"_ the grating voice of the doorman screamed back.

"Amanda's coming down the stairs! We need you to stop her for us!"

_"That little viper is YOUR headache!"_

"She's...um...she's running and she's **scuffing up the floor!"**

_"WHAAAAAAAT?"_

The gang could hear the sound of running feet coming through the intercom, followed by Lewbert shrieking _"HEY! Stop right there!" _There was a scream, accompanied by a loud crash.

"Well, that went better than expected," Carly said.

When they reached the lobby, they found Lewbert pinning Amanda to the floor. "Do what you want," the doorman said as he helped them carry her, kicking and screaming, to the elevator. "And remember to punish her for the _floor scuffing!"_

* * *

"So she can stay here tonight? Great! Thanks, Mrs. Clark, bye," said Spencer, hanging up. "Okay, we have ten hours before we need to let her go. What happens now?"

Their prisoner was gagged and tied to a dining room table, being watched carefully by Crystal, while Carly and Hiccup looked through her notebook. "You little _sneak!"_ Carly kept saying. "Exactly _how long_ have you been spying on us?"

"What?" Freddie asked.

"Listen to this; 'Hunter always walks pretty weird when he's at school, but not when he's walking to Carly's apartment. On Wednesday, Terence was talking about how he thinks Mr. Papperman is a troll. I caught a glimpse of the notes Ashley makes, and they're in RUNES.' "

_"Does this go on?"_

"For _pages!"_

"That's it, she's going down," said Sam. "What do you guys think we should do with her?"

"I vote for the _pepper spray!"_ Spencer chirped gleefully.

"Sam," Carly scolded.

"What, I've been _waiting_ for an excuse to do this!"

Sighing, Carly got up, walked to Amanda and removed her gag. "You better start explaining this."

The girl immediately began babbling frantically. "I wasn't _trying_ to find anything weird. I was just writing stuff down. I have to keep my observation skills up!"

"She's lying," hissed Astrid.

"No, I'm _not!_ Look, if you just give me back my notebook - "

"I don't think you're lying," Carly said, "but I don't trust you, either. We're keeping that notebook, and you're not telling _anyone_ about what's in it, understand?"

"What if I _do_ tell someone?"

"Then we stop being your assistants."

"Is that _all?"_ Snotlout quipped.

_"Fine,"_ Amanda said.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Carly answered as she began to untie the girl. "You can leave in the morning. Spencer, Crystal, watch her."

As the teens headed upstairs, they could hear Spencer whispering, _"Give me your pepper spray."_

"So what now?" Hiccup asked, a tinge of worry in his voice.

"Hope no one finds out about this," Freddie said.

"Whatever. It's gonna be fine," Carly said. "So what should we do about Trengrove and Nevel?"

"Personally, I still support my theory," Tuffnut answered. "I say we watch Trengrove for _wizardly_ tendencies..."

"I still want Melanie to join," Fishlegs added.

_There's no reason to worry,_ Carly thought as the others tuned him out. _We took her evidence. No one's gonna believe her. It **is** gonna be fine...right?_

And yet, she just couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't be.

* * *

**Next chapter: Our heroes turn detective.**

**_I apologize for the wait. Miss Kingsleigh has the attention span of a rock, as you should know, and - oh, did I say a ROCK? Don't worry, you have a WONDERFUL attention span, Miss Kingsleigh!_**

**No, I agree with you. Hey, guys! So what did you think of my plan for including Toothless? Did you like it? Please tell us! BYE!  
**

**~A. Kingsleigh **and **_CC Harker_**


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: Let's go over this one more time; I. Don't. Own. These. Characters!**

* * *

"Girly Cow, this is Fat Cake. Subject is almost in position, do you read?"

Sam's walkie-talkie crackled for a few moments, then Carly responded. "Fat Cake, this is Girly Cow. I read you."

"Is this really what we're going with?" Hiccup asked, not understanding the jargon.

"Unfortunately, yep," answered Freddie.

"Subject is holding the lunch tray and is heading outside," Sam was saying. "Code: follow the subject."

"Sam, the whole point of a _code_ is to - "

"It's cool, Fredhead. Unlike you. _Very_ unlike you."

Freddie shot an exasperated glance at Hiccup, and the two sighed in unison but were quickly silence by another wave of static from the walkie-talkie.

"Subject is sitting at table. I have finished applying the weaponry. I'm going in."

"Affirmative. Report to Mission Control when you are done, and Shirtless Wonder will alert the other operatives. Now _get out there!"_

Peering out from behind a trash can, Sam and the boys watched anxiously as Carly emerged from her hiding place and walked outside, setting their plan in motion.

"This is genius, I tell you! _Genius!"_ Sam whispered excitedly.

"I don't know, he seems pretty smart..."

"Oh, he's _definitely_ smart, Hiccup. But we have the advantage his _not-so-little weakness..."_

* * *

_"Hi,_ Nevel."

"Hello, Carly - oh, my."

Nevel couldn't believe what was happening. His beloved Carly was actually sitting down _next to him!_ He took a closer look and noticed that she was wearing _makeup._

"Is anyone sitting here?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Um...no..."

"Good," his crush answered, smiling.

Nevel tried to shake himself out of it. "Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to talk. I know the others and I have been pretty hard on you, and I thought we could - "

_"No._ You _want_ something from me, I can _tell._ Come on, spit it out!"

She smiled again. "Okay, you got me. I do want something."

_"I knew it!"_

"I want to learn more about the stuff from class - _great job, by the way_, you're _so good at teaching _- so I thought you might help me."

"Well...that's...very flattering. Is that really all you want?"

"So you'll help?" she asked, flashing her smile again and batting her eyelids.

"...I _could..."_

Carly scooted closer to him. "Good! So, I was curious about the things from the first two days."

"The cloning?"

"Uh-huh. I'd never heard _any_ of that before. Where'd you find it all?"

"Mr. Trengrove helped me - "

"You know, he sounds like a really cool person."

"Oh, he _is."_

"How'd you get him to help you out?"

"He contacted me, actually. Said he was a fan of my work, said he read the posts on Nevelocity about the class and was wondering if he could help, sent me a few Splashface videos about his company and his experiments, it really was a wonderful coincedence because - "

"Do you think I could find those videos?"

Nevel instantly stopped talking. He was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Well...they're not very expository...well, they _are,_ sort of...Mr. Trengrove told me he doesn't want people snooping around his private projects - "

_Time for the last resort._

"I'll give you a kiss."

Carly wished she had a camera at that moment, because Nevel's jaw dropped, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, made a noise that could only be described as a cross between gurgling and squeeing and stayed like that for almost three minutes. She glanced at her watch; lunch break would be over soon. If she was going to wrap this up she had to get working. "Hello? Nevel? You okay?" she asked, snapping her fingers in his face.

This jerked Nevel out his daze. After looking around briefly he pulled a pen and notepad out of his pocket, flipped open the pad and hastily scribbled some words on the first page before ripping it out and handing it to Carly. "Here's the names of his videos and the URL for his website," he said quickly. "He told me it was a work-in-progress a few weeks ago but I thought I heard him say it's about ready now - "

He was interrupted by Carly Shay's warm, wet, piña colada-flavored lips pressed against his own.

It was...incredible. He'd never experienced anything like it! _To be kissed by Carly Shay...__**AT LAST!**_ But all too soon, it was over. Carly was pulling back, standing up and walking away. "Thanks, Nevel," she said sweetly as she went back inside.

Nevel, in the throes of post-kiss catatonia, could only reply, "No...problem."

Sam slowly lowered the binoculars, gaping in surprise. "OMG...uh, I mean, attention: Girly Cow has completed her directions. Wait for soundoff."

"What?" asked Freddie, who hadn't been watching.

"You _don't_ wanna know," replied Hiccup, who had.

The trio watched as Carly walked quickly toward their hiding place, shuddering and looking at the paper in her hand.

"Carly Shay, _I salute you,"_ Sam said when her friends approached them. "Way to take one for the team, kid."

"We are never speaking of this to anyone."

"But - "

_"Anyone."_

"So what'd you get out of him?"

"Some videos and the URL for Trengrove's website," Carly replied, handing her the paper.

"Great! I'll finish up." Sam pressed a button on her walkie-talkie. "Shirtless Wonder, this is Fat Cake. Mission is accomplished. Give the soundoff."

There was a beat...then the sound of Gibby's voice. "Wha...oh! Right! The...CA-CAW! CA-CAW! _CA-__**CAW!"**_

"Not...that...loud," Sam managed to say once her eardrums stopped ringing.

* * *

After school, the gang went back to Carly's apartment to check out the two Splashface videos...which were, to say the least, not much help. The first had been a brief history of cloning, concluding with the founding of Trengrove's company (which seemed to consider this event some kind of world-saving miracle.) The second was a "virtual tour," really just an overhead shot of the company campus, consisting of several pristine, white blocky buildings spread out across a field.

"I kissed him for _this?"_ Carly kept saying in shock. "Man, what a ripoff."

"Why would he give you these? I bet he's on to us," Snotlout said.

"Now, now, remember who we're trying to make sense of before we make sense of him," Freddie answered.

Carly flopped onto the couch, followed by everyone else. "Do you think we should look at the website?"

"Judging from the videos, that would help us _how?"_ Sam answered cynically.

"Yeah, what's the point?" said Hiccup.

_"Aww,_ I sense a failed mission," said Spencer, who had just walked into the room.

"More or less," responded Carly. "I had to _kiss Nevel on the **lips**_ before he'd help me, and he just gave some stupid videos and a website."

"Stupid how?"

"See for yourself," said Freddie, gesturing towards the computer screen. The virtual tour video was still up.

Spencer did a brief double take, then sat down and clicked the 'Play' button. After watching it for a few seconds he said, "I thought this was supposed to be about Trengrove's company."

"It is," said Hiccup confusedly.

"No, it's not."

Carly sat up instantly. "What do you mean it's not, _yes it is,_ that's what he gave me, why would you say it's not?"

But Spencer had already run back to his room and returned with his book from law school. "What I'm saying is _that's not a map of his company._ That's a map of _my old law school."_ He flipped open the book to one of the first pages. "A-_ha!_ See?" He held up the book, and the teens' eyes widened as they realized he was right. On the page was a photograph of Spencer's school from overhead; the same picture from the video.

After a moment, Freddie walked to the computer and started typing in a web address; the URL for Trengrove's website, to be specific. "Come on, come on," he muttered as the others crowded around him, waiting for the page to load.

All they got was a blank screen and a message reading: **WEBPAGE DOES NOT EXIST.**

"...Something is not right here," said Spencer.

* * *

**Next chapter: Okay, Plan B.**

**Yes, I dropped a nasty cliffhanger on you guys. Sorry. I was going to make it a little longer, but once I typed in that last line I felt like that was just the PERFECT place to end it -**

**_The pirates are coming! The pirates are coming! Oh, everyone, the most wonderful thing has occurred! Aardman is making a pirate movie! Everyone spread the word!_**

**Uhh...yeah. We've both been like that for the last few days. I want to keep this short and sweet, so I'll just say you should look up The Pirates! Band of Misfits on IMDB. I think it has the potential to become my next movie obsession! Plus, I gotta say, I've never seen CC smile before. That's nice, too. And so is reviewing, so please do that!**

**~A. Kingsleigh **and _**CC Harker**_


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: Neither of these universes are mine. I'm just messing with them for my own twisted amusement.**

* * *

"Now _this_ feels wrong," Carly whispered unhappily.

"Why? We aren't stealing anything," said Fishlegs.

"She thinks it's not gonna work," teased Ruffnut.

"That is not a very nice thing to say and **no, I don't."**

_"Ssshhhh!"_ Freddie hissed from the bushes next to the school. "You ready, guys?"

"Almost," answered Spencer as he, Hiccup and Astrid carefully laid the ladder they'd been carrying on the ground before stretching it out to the height they needed.

Freddie checked his watch. "Five to nine. Spencer, go meet Gibby at the entrance."

Spencer gave the teens a small salute as he sneaked around to the front door of Ridgeway.

"...M-Maybe he doesn't have his papers with him," Carly stammered. She had truly hoped it wouldn't come to this.

"Don't be such a coward," snapped Astrid.

"I said _quiet!"_ whispered Freddie. "Any minute now..."

* * *

Approximately two stories up, in Room 6F, Sam Puckett was currently enjoying her own private detention.

"**Miss Puckett,** I asked you to refrain from the snapping of your fingers," Trengrove said testily.

"Sorry. Just tryin' to see if Nevel would wake up."

"Yes, he was quite disconcerted all afternoon." He poked the boy, who was slumped forward and asleep on the desk.

_Well, that's what happens when your lunch gets spiked._

Trengrove noticed Sam's grin. "I don't like you, Puckett."

"Join the club."

"Francine wasn't exaggerating when she said you were a troublemaker."

"Well, I probably _am_ the first student to simulate a wormhole with a vacuum cleaner."

"And the _last,_ if we're all lucky."

Sam glanced at the clock - just a few more seconds til' nine. _Come on, come **on...**_

The minute hand reached 12.

**CLANG! CRASH!_ KAPOW!_**

_"What did you touch?"_ Trengrove shouted at Sam.

"Nothing, I swear!"

There was a loud crackling noise, a rush of static, and then a Ginger Foxx song began erupting from downstairs.

With a growl of frustration, Trengrove slammed his book shut and stalked out of the room, yelling a gruff "Don't move!" at Sam before disappearing.

The second that the door closed, Sam leapt out of her seat. Hurrying to the window, she opened it and gave the signal. "Ca-CAW! Ca-CAW!"

"Ca-CAW!" responded Freddie as the other teens carefully raised the ladder. When it was positioned at the window, Ruff and Tuff held it in place while the others climbed up into the room.

"Come on, his stuff's on the desk," Sam said. "Hurry!"

* * *

_"Who goes there?"_ Trengrove barked as he stormed downstairs. When he reached the first floor, he was greeted with a strange sight; pots and pans were lying around, still-burning sparklers had been stuck in various places, a CD player was blaring the Ginger Foxx song...and a giant slingshot was aiming a watermelon at him.

"BOOM! Bullseye!" Spencer yelled as the projectile struck Trengrove in the chest, sending him careening backwards into a row of lockers.

"Do we hit him again?" Gibby asked.

_"Nay!"_

"I _demand_ to know what is transcending here!" Trengrove yelled.

"And I demand that you _dance with me!"_ Spencer yelled back.

Gibby changed the music to an upbeat dance tune, lit some more sparklers and before Trengrove had realized what was happening, Spencer had grabbed him and they were twirling around the room.

* * *

"Ugh, this is useless," Snotlout said. "I give up."

"Look harder!" Hiccup commanded as the teens continued to scan the desk.

"What's this?" asked Freddie. Something black was underneath Nevel's head.

Hiccup carefully pushed the sleeping boy out of the way. "It's a binder. There's words on the cover."

"Project Draconis," Freddie read. He picked up the binder and flipped through the first few pages. "Not much. Just some numbers and...oh...my..._god."_

The color drained from Hiccup's face. "You guys are gonna want to see this."

Sketches of dragons - Nadders, Gronckles, Zipplebacks and others - covered the binder's pages, accompanied by calculations and scribbled notes. All in runes.

"There's one of a Night Fury!" Snotlout said.

Hiccup pointed to the sketch's tail. "Not just _any_ Night Fury."

Carly whipped out her phone. "Here, let me see it." Quietly turning the pages, she took photos of the drawings.

After a few minutes, Astrid stopped her. "What are those squiggly-things?"

Freddie glanced over her shoulder. "Looks like a...double helix?"

"A what?"

"DNA."

"Okay, _how_ did we get from _dragons_ to _that?"_ Sam asked incredulously.

"There's...there's a tab in here," Carly said. "Blueprints. Blueprints for what?" She flipped the page. In the binder was a detailed print of a large glass tube, its top attached to a large orb.

"...W-What is that thing?" Hiccup stammered.

"I don't know," answered Carly as she took another picture. "I don't know."

_"Guys! GUYS!"_ said Fishlegs, standing guard at the door. "He's coming _back!"_

Carly hastily shut the binder. Placing it back under Nevel's head, they headed for the window.

"We're not gonna make it," whispered Freddie, hearing Trengrove's approaching steps.

Sam pushed back on the ladder, signaling the twins to lower it down, then ran to the room's closet. "What are you waiting for?" she said to her friends, who needed no encouragement. In a matter of seconds, she had them all crammed inside.

No sooner had Sam returned to her seat than the classroom door burst open. Trengrove stormed in, dragging Spencer and Gibby with him. "You _will_ regret your insolence," he snarled as he tossed them to the floor. Returning to his desk, he looked at Nevel with an air of disgust before violently shoving him off his chair. He moved slightly, but didn't wake up. "Useless creature..._what are you looking at?"_ he yelled at Sam.

"Nothing," she quickly replied, bowing her head. Normally she would have had a snarky comeback, but even she could tell that getting Trengrove angrier was a bad idea.

Astrid watched the scene through the closet keyhole. "What now?" she dared to whisper.

"We wait," answered Freddie.

"Tomorrow's Saturday. There won't be anyone here."

"Spencer'll get us out. Right, Carly?"

Carly wasn't listening. She and Hiccup were looking through the pictures she'd taken, their horror steadily growing. They hadn't truly expected to find anything all that weird, but now...something _terrible_ was going on.

And they were in the thick of it.

* * *

**Next chapter: Things get worse before they get better.**

**_Hello, Miss Kingsleigh. Watcha dooooin?_**

**Oh, CC! How unexpected! And by unexpected, I mean COMPLETELY EXPECTED! If you must know, I'm finishing up Chapter 11!**

**_Well, get it done. I know what we're gonna do today! *whispers*_**

**...Aren't we a little young for that?**

**_Yes. Yes, we are._**

**Sounds good to me. Bye, guys! Leave some reviews and turn out the lights when you're done! As they say in Mexico, dosvedanya!  
**

**_As they say in China, arrivederci!_**

**~A. Kingsleigh **and **_CC Harker_  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own it, never ever will. Happy?**

* * *

When she woke up, the first thing Carly was aware of was that she was falling backwards. The second thing was that her head had just struck a plastic floor..._hard._

"Get up!" a voice commanded.

"Are you okay?" a second voice asked.

"S...Sam? Ruff?

Sam had already stepped over her into the closet and was shaking awake the others.

"...Spencer and Gibby were supposed to get us."

"Yeah, but - "

"OW! Spencer, why...Sam?" Astrid asked hazily.

Having no success with just shaking her friends, Sam was now knocking them to the floor.

"You're not supposed to be here," Snotlout warbled.

_"Everybody's a critic._ Now get up."

"What's going on?" asked Freddie.

"We'll explain later, now _HELP ME!"_

In a few minutes, the other teens were all up and being marched downstairs. From the unusually stern look on Sam's face, it was obvious that something was up.

"What time is it?" Snotlout whined.

"Ten in the morning."

Hiccup stopped. "Wait, Spencer was gonna get us at _nine."_

"I know," Sam answered gruffly. "Now come on."

_"No,"_ Carly snapped, pulling Sam back. "Sam, something's happened. _What is it?"_

"...You're not gonna like it."

On the way back to Bushwell, Sam told the others what had occurred the previous night. "So Trengrove lets me out at 11 or so. More like _throws_ me out, actually. He keeps Spencer and Gibby with him. Ruff, Tuff and I go back to my house. In the morning - this is an hour ago - I check my phone. Spencer was gonna text me when he gets to the school, right? Well, he's supposed to be there, and no text."

"Maybe he forgot," said Fishlegs.

"I don't think so. I tried calling him, no answer. Same thing with Gibby. Finally we just go get you ourselves."

"So what does that mean?" Snotlout asked.

Sam gave him a 'really?' look. After a moment, he understood.

"...Come _on._ Why would Trengrove _kidnap_ Spencer and Gibby?"

"Why _not?"_ answered Tuffnut. "Let's say I'm plotting to take over the world. I find out that two people are on to me. What would I do? Get rid of them, of course!"

"...Get rid of them?" Carly asked anxiously, starting to look pale.

"You know, get them out of the way. They'd be an inconvenience to let live - ouch!" he finished as his sister punched him.

"Don't freak out," Hiccup told Carly. "He's just teasing - "

Carly, however, was already racing down the sidewalk.

_"Lewbert!"_ she yelled, bursting through the front door of Bushwell, her friends behind her. "Have you seen Spencer?"

**"Why do you want to know?"**

"It's important! Can you just tell us?"

"I _could..._if I'd been _awake last night!_ Look for him in your apartment, now _GO!"_

They needed no persuading.

* * *

"He's not picking up," said Carly as the group walked down the hall towards Carly's apartment. "And neither is Gibby!"

"Okay, _calm down,"_ said Sam. "Let's not assume the worst here, shall we?"

"...Sometimes it's...good..." Carly trailed off in shock. "...Oh _god."_

The door to her apartment was standing ajar.

For a moment, everyone just stared. They all knew what _this_ could mean.

Slowly, Sam took off her backpack, zipped it open, pulled out several small paintball guns and passed them among her friends. "Come on."

"In there?"

"With _these?"_

"It's the best thing we've got. Now _shhh,_ keep quiet."

Carly stepped towards the door. "I don't hear anything," she said, puzzled. Taking a deep breath, she nudged the door open with her toe and stepped inside.

Not only was the lower floor of the apartment empty, it was _spotless._

This wasn't right. This wasn't right at all.

"...Spencer?" she called. "Spencer? Gibby? You here?"

The others stepped in behind her. "Maybe they had something _really important_ to do?" Fishlegs wondered. "I mean, everything looks okay."

"Oh, _sure,"_ answered Tuffnut. "They do a little cleaning and then decide 'Hey, today's a good day to vanish off the face of Midgard!' I support the kidnapping theory."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Let's look around. For all we know, someone could be hiding in here."

"Why would the kidnappers stick around once they've _collected their prey?"_

"And might I suggest that you **completely ignore** _**everything Tuff says."**_

Sam, Astrid and Ruff went upstairs while Tuff, Legs and Lout went into Spencer room, leaving Hiccup, Carly and Freddie alone.

Carly let her eyes travel around the room. She wouldn't have been _quite_ so worried if Spencer had simply gone and left the apartment in its normal state - that happened all the time. What unnerved her was the fact that everything was picked up, resting on a shelf, neatly dusted. The floor had been scrubbed. The kitchen had been cleared and the sink emptied. Even the coasters on the coffee table were in a perfect stack. Not since that little Christmas incident had her home looked anything _remotely_ like this. And _why_ did the whole room smell of disinfectant?

"You okay?" Freddie asked, sitting next to her.

Carly slowly shook her head. "...Do you see all this?"

"Yeah, it looks nice. Pretty weird for Spencer, though."

**"Exactly."**

"For all we know, it could have been my mom. Quit worrying so much."

"It's _clean,_ Freddie, not _sterilized."_

"...Look, I'm not saying something really bad's happened - "

"Hey, doesn't Crystal usually come to the door or something?" Hiccup suddenly asked.

The dragon was nowhere in sight.

"Crystal? Here, girl!" Carly yelled. No welcoming screech, not even a chirp.

"GAH!" Sam, stormed downstairs with Ruff and Astrid behind her. _"FISHLEGS!"_

"What'd I do?" Legs answered as the boys reemerged from Spencer's room.

**_"Like you don't know."_** She pulled out her phone and began reading from it in a high, whiny voice. _"'Hey, Sam! Felix is meeting me the Groovy Smoothie 4 lunch & I was wondering if you'd all come with us! Love, Melanie.'_ Don't you remember what I TOLD YOU ABOUT HER?"

"...Yes..."

Sam started texting Melanie back. "Dear Melanie, we are not...**hey!"**

Carly had snatched the phone out of Sam's hands and was punching the keys. "Have...you...heard...from...Spencer...or...Gibby..." She managed to send the text before Sam yanked the phone back.

"What was _that_ for?"

"It's worth a try, Sam."

"Why would Melanie know anything about where they are? Does she seem like she'd be _helpful_ in this?"

"As a matter of fact, she _does,_ unlike _you!"_

"Both of you stop!" Astrid snapped, grabbing Sam's arms.

"...She _would_ make a good pawn," Tuffnut mused. "All evil overlords need someone to manipulate so they can - "

**"WILL YOU STOP THAT?"** everyone yelled.

Suddenly, Sam's phone began beeping, signaling the arrival of a text. Carly tried to grab it from Sam, who was holding it away from her.

"Give it!"

"Nuh-uh!"

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup walked behind Sam and plucked the phone from her hand. _"Enough,"_ he said, tossing it to Carly.

"I'm just being realistic; why would Trengrove drag Melanie into this?"

_"Guys!"_ Carly shouted. "Look!"

The group gathered around her and their eyes widened as they read the text.

_Totally! Spencer called me this morning, and he said something about a trip. Are U still coming 2 Groovy Smoothie?_

"...We are _not,"_ said Sam.

* * *

"Sam, aren't you gonna drink your smoothie?" Melanie asked.

"I hate blueberry banana."

"...So why did you order it?" wondered Ruff.

Sam eyed her smoothie cup with disdain. "Why _did_ I?" She got up. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna see what Carly's doing."

Freddie had taken his laptop with him and he, Carly, Hiccup and Astrid had been using it to examine the pictures on Carly's phone for the past half-hour.

"So what have we got?" Sam whispered to them as she approached.

"Oh, this is bad, this is _bad,"_ Freddie trembled hopelessly. "This guy has _way_ too much time on his hands."

"What I don't get is the runes," Astrid said. "How does he know runes?"

"Probably so Nevel won't figure any of this out," Carly answered.

Sam looked over Freddie's shoulder at the computer screen. Most of the pictures were highly detailed sketches of dragons, surrounded by indecipherable notes. "What do those say, anyway?"

"Their strengths," Hiccup explained. "Here, look at this one for Nadders: _Spines on tail can be shot at enemies. Add to abilities."_

"What does that last part mean?" Sam asked.

"I wish I knew."

At that moment, Sam had an idea. "Hey, Freddie, pull up the pic of that tube-thing."

Freddie did so, and they all stared at the strange machine. "What are we looking for?" he asked.

_"Notes,"_ Sam said, zooming in on the picture. "Like those right there."

Sure enough, there were tiny runes scribbled around the drawing which the teens hadn't noticed.

"What do they say?" Carly queried, trying to get a better look.

Astrid leaned towards the screen. "Something about needing power and...'watch for rangers?'"

"Anything else?"

"...A forest. That's all I can make out."

Carly stood up. "I'll be right back." _There's only one place with **that** description around here._ "Hey, Melanie?"

"Hey, Carly! You doing homework over there or something?"

"You could say that, yeah. Listen; Spencer told you he and Gibby were on a trip, right?"

"Yes."

"Did they tell you where?"

"Mount Baker National Forest."

* * *

**Next chapter: Things REALLY get worse before they get better.**

**Hee hee, that's so FUNNY. I like how it kinda dwindles off at the end like he's out of breath. Seriously, that's a great video.  
**

**_It's not funny. He's in mourning for his wife, you emotionless sadist._**

**He's DARTH FREAKING VADER, he should be able to yell the word "no" convincingly. Seriously, when a Plasticine chicken can yell the word "no" better than Darth Vader can, something's wrong with the world.**

**_...I swear, I will drag you out of your Star Wars obsession AND your Chicken Run obsession if it KILLS me._**

**That's nice. Hey, do you think Hiccup looks like Luke Skywalker, or am I just seeing things?**

**_Goodbye, everyone. I have some brainwashing to do._**

**~A. Kingsleigh **and **_CC Harker_  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**...Well?**

_**...There's a passing resemblance. PASSING. It's in the hair. And the nose.**_

**And that proves it; Hiccup DOES bear a vague resemblance to Luke Skywalker. You heard it here first! And now that we've gotten that out of the way, TO THE CHAPTER!**

**DISCLAIMER: No, non, nyet, **_**iya.**_

* * *

"I _should have known!"_

Carly was pacing back and forth through the apartment, to the chagrin of her friends. Ever since they got back from the Groovy Smoothie, she'd been going on about how "that obviously evil nutcase" had kidnapped her brother and the dragons, and how she was going to stop him if it was the last thing she did. Even if she was right - and everyone had to admit that she probably was - there was a limit to how much of her speeches they could all take.

"It all makes sense now. Nevel wasn't the problem, it was _him!_ It was _always him!_ But _we're_ going to get him, _we have to," _she continued.

"And stop him from taking over the world!" Tuffnut chimed in.

**"EXACTLY!"**

Astrid rolled her eyes and went upstairs, having finally had enough. Everyone else just sighed. This was becoming too much.

"And _now_ I can no longer call you annoying, because you're _past_ being annoying," Ruffnut announced snarkily.

"It's taken her that long?" said Snotlout.

"Apparently. She's even driven off that Terror."

"I haven't seen her all day," said Hiccup.

Hearing this, Fishlegs sat up. "Carly?" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice. "Where does Crystal usually stay around here?"

"...In the car upstairs or in my room. She usually comes out when she hears us."

Freddie began to catch on. "Then why hasn't she?"

"Hey, guys! _Guys!"_

Astrid came rushing down the stairs, a small piece of paper in her hand. "You should see this..."

Sam took the paper and looked it over. "Where was this?" she asked urgently.

"Corner of the studio. I think whoever wrote it just tossed it aside."

Carly butted in between them. "What is that thing?"

A short note was written on the paper - not in haste, if the neat handwriting was any clue;

_Nevel Note: Meet Mr. Trengrove at school Saturday evening, 9:00. __Do not forget dragon!_

"Carly...?" Freddie squeaked, noticing the sudden change in his friend. "You're not about to have one of those break with reality things...?"

_"He is going __**down."**_

Snotlout peeked over her shoulder at the paper. "Nevel Note?"

_"WHAT?"_

"He called it a Nevel Note, why would he - "

_"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"_

"Carly, _calm down," _Hiccup said. "We need to think this through."

"What if they'd taken Toothless? Would you think it through _then?"_

"Don't try to change the subject - "

"I'm not." Carly took a deep breath and looked Hiccup straight in the eyes. "You saw what was in that book. Hiccup, _he knows._ If he hasn't found them already, he's going to. And judging from that picture, he might _actually_ have Toothless. He might have _all_ our dragons," she said, addressing the entire group. "So tell me," she continued as she turned back to Hiccup, _"what are you going to do?"_

"...Anything I have to."

* * *

The back door of the school was locked, as they had expected.

"Okay, the power's off," said Sam, rounding the corner and returning to the group. "Everything should be down."

"Sam?" whispered Carly. "A little help here?"

"Move aside," her friend commanded. Kneeling down in front of the lock, she fished out a ballpoint pen and jammed it into the keyhole.

"How's that getting us in?" Astrid asked. "I say we just break the door down."

"That _is_ state-of-the art security technology," said Freddie.

"Just watch," said Sam. "In three, two, one..."

The lock dropped to the ground as she stood and effortlessly opened the door.

_"How did you - "_

"Family secret. Now _move!"_

Their plan was a simple one; they'd sneak in, find Nevel and Trengrove, Sam and Astrid would overpower them and the teens would wring out from their prisoners the locations of Spencer, Gibby and Crystal.

Carly turned on the flashlight she'd brought. In hindsight, this was probably worse than when they'd done this the previous night. But sneaking through the school in darkness, not being entirely sure what they were going to run into, felt far more dangerous. She kept these thoughts to herself, though; this had been her own idea, after all. Sam took the lead, and in a few minutes they found themselves in the main room of the school.

"Well, this isn't so bad," Freddie whispered.

"Yeah," Sam said into his ear, "it's like one of those horror movies where we all _die_ one by one."

"Or get captured by the evil wizard and his _horrifying monsters,"_ Tuffnut added.

_"Shhh!"_ Astrid hissed. "I'm trying to listen for someone."

They all fell silent. "I...don't hear anything," Fishlegs mouthed.

At that moment, there it was; the sound of footsteps.

"Oh, no!"

"What do we do?"

_"In here!"_ said Sam, unlocking the door to the teachers' lounge.

They hurried inside as the footsteps grew louder. Through the window, they could see a tall, dark figure walk down the stairs across the room and disappear down the hall.

"He's here, all right," Astrid said as they emerged_._

"But what's he doing?" said Ruffnut.

Carly shined her flashlight up the stairs. No one else was coming, and no sound could be heard. "Only one way to find out."

* * *

It was Freddie's idea to try Room 6F first. Sure enough, the door was standing ajar. No light could be seen inside and it was completely silent.

"I got the butter sock," Sam said. "Let's go."

Quietly, they pushed open the door...

"Well, this is stupid," Snotlout deadpanned.

The room was empty. Everything was neatly in place, no signs of a scuffle or a meeting or _anything._

"This just means they're not here," Hiccup reasoned. "Come on, guys."

"Wait!" Fishlegs whispered. "Do you hear that?"

They all listened. Sure enough, they could hear muffled shouts coming from the closet.

"What the...?"

Something began banging against the door from the inside, trying to escape. "...Help!"

Carly walked towards the door, but Astrid stopped her. "Could be a trap."

Sam unlocked the door and started to open it. "I'll be the judge of that...OH MY...!"

Everyone gasped as the last two people they'd expected to see here tumbled out of the closet bound and gagged.

Fishlegs was the first to react. "Are you all right, Melanie?" he asked frantically as he untied her.

"Amanda, _what did you do?"_ Sam snapped.

"You've all got a _lot_ of explaining to do!" Melanie said when she was freed.

Amanda was continuing to shrieking. "Oh, what do _you_ want?" said Snotlout, taking off her gag.

"RUN! All of you! Get out of here **NOW!"**

Suddenly a bright light shined in the teens' faces, blinding them. It was coming from a large lamp placed on the desk.

"Well, well. What do you know," teased Nevel.

"Only _everything!"_ Astrid shouted.

Nevel looked slightly miffed. "...That was rhetorical."

"Don't bother, Mr. Papperman," an unmistakable voice rumbled from the shadows. The group turned to see Trengrove himself stepping out of the shadows. "I overestimated your intelligence. I thought you clever, yet you fall right into my trap."

"It was _my_ trap," said Nevel.

"You merely carried it out."

**"Where is my brother?"** Carly said angrily.

"Your brother, your brother...Nevel, what is his name again? Ah, I remember. Spencer, you need not worry. He is in my care. And so are your friends."

"We need worry, then!" retorted Sam.

"Good heavens, don't waste your violence on _me!_ If it were not for _Miss Clark,_ you would not be here now."

The teens slowly turned to Amanda, who shrank back in terror. "Don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me. _Please,_ let me tell you the truth."

_"YOU!"_ screeched Sam as she tackled the girl.

"NO, it's not how it sounds!"

"Would _someone_ tell me what's going on?" Melanie yelled.

"It's quite simple," replied Trengrove. "Everything you know about your six new friends is a _lie."_

"W-What do you mean?"

"He hasn't exactly been telling the truth either," said Hiccup, stepping forward. "But _he's going to."_

"You don't want to hurt me."

"Why not?"

"You will never find out where _your friend_ is."

"...If you've hurt him - "

"Oh _dear,_ now I'm quite afraid. I suppose you'll have to do something horrid to me. After all, he _is_ proving quite useful in my..._experimentation."_

With a cry of fury, Hiccup charged towards Trengrove. The man simply rolled his eyes. "So passionate and yet so foolish." He nonchalantly grabbed Hiccup and threw him into a desk, sending it crashing to the floor. The boy let out a sharp cry of pain; he'd banged his head on the desk.

"Oh, my. You won't be conscious long with _that_ nasty bump. And what's this?" Trengrove said as he reached down and tore off Hiccup's leg brace and sneaker. "Take a look at this, Melanie."

"Oh...my...god," Melanie breathed as she stared at Hiccup's prosthetic.

Trengrove leaned over his opponent. "Should have thought before you acted - _Hiccup."_

The boy closed his eyes and slipped into unconsciousness.

With an evil chuckle, Trengrove picked up his catch. "The Fury will cooperate when he sees this...come along, Nevel."

**"NO!"** Astrid screamed, hurling herself at Trengrove.

"Nevel, help me subdue them!" Trengrove commanded as he whipped out a taser.

Astrid dropped to the floor writhing in pain when the bolt of electricity shot through her. Sam rushed to her aid, only to be sent down by Nevel.

"Hey!" Melanie yelled. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm telling the - AAAGGGHHH!" She was cut off by a shock from Trengrove.

Carly tried to back towards the closet. Maybe if they didn't see her, she could -

"And where do you think you're going?" asked Nevel, grabbing her arm.

* * *

_Far away, in a place where he would never be found, a Night Fury cried out in pain. **No!** he thought. He had been tortured so much already - all those terrible things they had done to him - but he thought that now he could take it, that he'd resigned himself to it, that they could no longer hurt him. But he was wrong. They had done something worse than all those other things, something that could break him for good...they had found his rider, they had hurt him and they had taken him.  
_

_Hiccup was in terrible, terrible danger._

* * *

**Next chapter: If things are to be put right, rivalries must be set aside and new friends must be made. But will they?**

_**Warning: the preceding chapter included the acts of breaking and entering, kidnapping, tasing and was flat-out depressing. It should not have been read by small children or those of a nervous disposition. **_

_**I'm happy to inform you that I wrote a good deal of this installment. It came about from the fact that Miss Kingsleigh is currently experiencing what TvTropes would refer to as a "Heroic Blue Screen Of Death." Apparently it involves not getting a part in a play, animatronics, a Mr. Jar-Jar Binks, something called the Uncanny Valley and the previous chapter getting only one review. For shame, readers. FOR SHAME. I know school is starting up but I also know you can do better than that. So if you have the time, please review!**_

**~ _CC Harker _**and **A. Kingsleigh**


	14. Chapter 14

**Well, I have bad news and good news. The bad news is that school has started for me **_**and**_** I'm in a musical - yes, I got a part after all - **_**AND**_** I'm trying to write a play, so you guys will most likely be seeing less of me in the coming months. The good news is that I've not only gotten out of my Heroic BSOD (Blue Screen of Death,) but I've put CC into one! She's currently off on a pilgrimage to see the Dark Lord Cthulhu and request that he smite down the hideous creature known as Jar-Jar Binks and call his minions disguised as Deadly Nadder animatronics back to him. I suspect we won't be hearing from her for quite a while. *insert devilish grin here***

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned iCarly and HTTYD, I would sooo be doing something better than...no, actually, I **_**would **_**be writing fanfics.**

* * *

_Why me?_ Carly thought as she stared out the window, watching raindrops slide down the glass.

**BANG!**

"Sam, stop it."

**BANG!**

"I said _stop it!"_

Sam kicked at the door a third time. "It's not gonna work..."

"And you're _sure_ he took that pen?" asked Freddie.

"Yeah."

When the teens had recovered from their shocks, they had quickly figured out that Nevel and Trengrove had taken their phones, their tools, the materials from all the desks - anything that might have helped them escape - and locked them in the classroom. Because it was Sunday, there was no chance of being rescued until the next morning; by then, it would almost certainly be too late.

Having an idea, Carly fiddled with the lock on the window. Glued shut. _Man, those two thought of everything._ Besides, what would they do if they _could_ get out? They couldn't save their friends by themselves, but no one would believe them. _Speaking of which..._

She turned around and stared at the scene before her. Sam was kicking the door; Freddie was sitting at the desk, looking as dejected as she'd ever seen him; Astrid was in the corner trying not to cry, and Ruffnut, Snotlout and Tuffnut were trying to comfort her; Amanda had retreated into the closet, where she'd been sobbing for the past several hours; Fishlegs was watching Melanie, who was sitting at a desk and not looking at anyone.

He stepped closer to her, working up the courage to speak. "...Melanie - "

**"Leave me alone."**

"I'm sorry, I really am."

"I don't care, Feli - Fishlegs - _whoever you are."_

Carly winced, feeling his pain. _At least she didn't slap him again._

She returned her attention to the closet. Despite what had happened, she still felt a little sorry for Amanda...even if the girl _was_ a lying, sniveling -

_Wait._

Ignoring the confused stares of her friends, she walked to the closet, slowly opened the door and stepped inside. "Amanda? Are you okay?"

Amanda uncurled herself from the fetal position she was sitting in and looked up. "W-Why would you care? You don't like me."

"I was gettin' a little worried. You'd been here for a while."

"...I don't want to come out. Sam'll hurt me."

"You don't have to come out. But can I stay in here?"

"Why?"

"I want to know what you were talking about - you said it wasn't your fault."

Amanda gave Carly a small smile. "This...this is a joke," she finished, her smile fading.

"No, it's not. It's...like an interview."

Amanda stared for a few more moments before slowly nodding. "...All right..."

"Good. Now, just tell me what happened."

"It...it was the day after I found out. I had another interview with Nevel..."

* * *

_"Hello, Miss Clark! You know, I have a feeling our appointment today will prove **very** useful to your project."_

_"T-That's nice to h-hear, Mr. P-Papperman."_

_"Amanda, are you alright? You seem a little nervous."_

_"Me? Nervous? I...I'm excited, that's all."_

_"So am I."_

_"Anyway, I'd like to start with a discussion about Nevelocity. What **inspired** you to - "_

_"I thought we'd planned to discuss the technology I use with the site."_

_"I'm sorry, what?"_

_"Didn't you read the e-mail I sent?"_

_"No..."_

_"Amanda, **something's** wrong. What is it?"_

_"Nothing! I didn't get much sleep last night, that's all."_

_"What were you doing?"_

_"Working with my assistants - Carly, Sam, Hunter, you know."_

_"Oh...**oh.** Yes, Amanda, I understand. Perfectly fine."_

_"So, back to the question - "_

_"First I want you to see something. I think you'll find it quite helpful."_

_"Um, okay...Mr. Papperman, what's in that binder?"_

_"Take a look!"_

_"...I don't...what the...oh my...what are these?"_

_"What do they look like?"_

_"...Sketches of yours. Which are nice, by the way, you can have them back now - "_

_"You seem very interested in that small one. It's called a Terrible Terror."_

_"...Okay, then..."_

_"I hear there's a few right here in Seattle. You get around - perhaps you've seen one."_

_"...No, never."  
_

_"Miss Clark?"_

_**"Mr. Trengrove?"**_

_"You, Miss Clark, are an **exceedingly** bad liar."_

* * *

"I kept saying I didn't know what they were talking about. Turns out they wouldn't exactly take 'no' for an answer," Amanda finished.

"So what happened after that?"

"They called my mom and said that Nevel wanted me to help him with another project, then they made me go with them to Nevel's house - that's where I've been the last few days. This morning, Nevel took me back to Bushwell. They made me get a key from Lewbert, then they went into your apartment and took your dragon. Trengrove left us there for a while - "

"And Nevel cleaned up, I bet."

"Yeah. When Trengrove came back, he had Melanie with him. Then we went back to the school and - well, here _we_ are."

"And you swear that's all true?"

"Everything."

"Then I forgive you," Carly said as she took Amanda's hand. "Now, can you go out there and tell all that to the others?"

"You really think they'll listen?"

"They will if I back you up."

"Carly...why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because a while ago I was...well, I was pretty much in the same mess you were."

"Gee, what happened?"

Carly smiled. "It's a long story."

The got up and Carly started to open the door. "Just come with - whoa!"

Sam, Freddie, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins were gathered around the door.

"Okay, how much did you guys hear?"

"All of it," Snotlout replied sheepishly.

"And do you believe her?"

With some hesitation, they all nodded.

"So? Anything you'd like to say?"

Sam stepped forward. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Amanda replied gratefully.

"And this changes _what _about our problem, exactly?" Astrid blurted out.

"Here's what happens now," Carly answered. "We get out of here, we find our friends, we kick Nevel and Trengrove's butts. How's that sound?"

**"Yeah!"** everyone yelled.

Fishlegs looked around. "Hey, where's Melanie?"

They heard the sound of a door creaking behind them and turned around to see Melanie standing in the open doorway of the room, holding a bent paper clip. "Well?" she asked. "You heard her. _Come on!"_

* * *

The next few hours were a whirlwind of activity. After convincing Sam's mom to let them use her car (which didn't take much work) and improvising some weapons, the group headed out of Seattle, up the interstate and towards the forest.

Freddie checked his GPS. "We're getting close. The turnoff should be coming up right...about..."

_"There!"_ Tuffnut yelled. "Right there! Carly, turn the wheel-thing!"

"I'm _working on it!"_ Carly yelled as they swerved down the new path. _Note to self: if we get out of this, never take driving lessons from Sam again._

The sun had finished setting when they parked the car in a secluded clearing. "What now?" Ruffnut whispered, turning on a flashlight as they stepped outside.

"We figure out where Trengrove would be," Carly answered.

Fishlegs stooped down and examined the ground for a moment. "Guys! Look at this!" He'd found a small, shiny black disc. "Night Fury scale."

"Are there more?"

Sam shined her own flashlight down a path. She could see a trail of large, circular footprints leading out of the clearing and deeper into the woods. _"Tracks!"_ she said.

Astrid looked at the prints. "They're his, all right," she said. "Let's go."

For the next few minutes, the group crept silently through the woods, following the path Toothless had made.

"Odin, when do these _stop?"_ Snotlout complained.

_"Quiet!"_ everyone hissed at him.

"All I'm saying is...oh, wow."

They turned to see Snotlout staring up in wonder at a destroyed tree, covered in burn marks and split almost in half.

On an impulse, Carly shined her flashlight in a circle around the area. Everyone gasped as they saw that each tree in the clearing had been scratched, burned or damaged somehow.

"So he put up a fight," Melanie said.

Amanda noticed something shiny on the ground. She tried to pick it up, but couldn't. She brushed the dirt and leaves out of the way...and brushed, and brushed, and brushed. "Guys...?" she squeaked as she stared at the ground in horror.

It wasn't earth. It was metal.

Sam stomped her foot down. Instead of a soft thud, they all heard a hollow _clang._

Freddie took a closer look at one of the trees. "What the...?"

"What is it?" asked Astrid.

"Looks like a lens...is that a _camera?"_

A hideous screeching noise filled the air, and the ground opened up beneath them.

* * *

**Next chapter: There's a reason this story is listed as "Humor/Sci-Fi."**

**I warned you at the start of this chapter and I'll warn you again; I probably won't be updating as much in the coming months, what with school and all. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter - I know I enjoyed writing it. I'm kinda hoping Cthulhu eats CC...**

**Bye-bye! Remember to review!**

**~A. Kingsleigh  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own it, never will.**

* * *

The kids couldn't escape. They screamed and scrambled to climb back up to the surface, but it was no use; the metal doors they were standing on simply dropped inwards, giving them no time to think up a plan.

It was as though they'd opened a portal to Hel, and now they were falling into it.

With a loud thud, they were dropped into a cylindrical chamber, painfully landing on a steel floor. Getting up, they watched in terror as the doors quickly swung back into their original postition, locking their prisoners in complete darkness.

"Quiet!" whispered Sam as she clapped a hand over the screaming Amanda's mouth. "Maybe they don't know we're here."

On the floor next to the wall, a small light flickered on. It was followed by another, then several more, forming a circle around the room and revealing a narrow hallway shrouded in darkness.

Astrid stood up and pulled out the taser Sam had given her. Moving towards the hallway, she gestured to the others to follow. Reluctantly they got up, picked a weapon and began sneaking down the corridor. As they moved, pairs of lights flickered to life on the floor along the walls, showing the way...and as they moved past the lights, they turned off.

_Then again, maybe they __**do**__, _Sam thought. _Then where are they?_ "What's taking 'em so long?" she whispered to Carly.

"What do you mean?"

"This is the part where they jump out and try to kill us all or spray us with KO gas or something. They're stomping on the bad guy rulebook here!"

"He wants to make us _suffer,"_ Ruffnut answered knowingly. "First he doesn't show up, which gets us really scared, _then_ he comes in _right when we least expect it_ and starts _ripping us limb from - "_

**BANG BANG BANG!**

_"Open this door, you __**cowards!" **_ Astrid yelled. She had reached the end of the hallway before the others and was attacking the thick steel door preventing her from chasing down her prey.

"They'll hear you!" Melanie said, trying to pull her away.

Spotting the metal baseball bat Melanie was carrying, Astrid wrenched it from her and began using it to beat at the door. Her friends' eyes widened in shock when they realized that she was actually making _dents._ Carly looked to the other Vikings for help. They simply shook their heads and stepped back.

"They're behind it...I **know** they are," Astrid muttered to herself as she took another vicious whack at the barrier. "Just...have to...keep..."

And then several things happened at once. The lights were all switched on, the sound of creaking gears filled the air, the door slid open and the floor abruptly jerked into motion, knocking the teens down and carrying them with it.

"GAH! What _is_ this? Turn it off! _Turn it off!"_ they shouted as they scrambled to their feet, only to fall down again when the conveyor belt abruptly sped up. It continued to carry them down the hallway and through another door, which slid aside just as the first one had. The teens yelled in shock as the belt made a steep drop, tossing them around helplessly before abruptly leveling out. Finally it passed through another door, out of the hallway and into a large room, where it jerked to a stop.

Ruffnut was the first to speak. "You see..._what I mean?"_

The teens carefully stood up. As they regained their balance, they examined their new surroundings - and couldn't help being surprised. The room was of the kind of quality one _really_ doesn't expect to find several feet underground. It was cool, spacious and dark; black tiles for the walls and ceiling, polished black marble for the floor. High-tech TV screens were all over the place, each showing videos flaunting computer models of DNA structures and complicated machinery, almost like animated blueprints. At the far end of the room, a short flight of stairs led to a set of large, intimidating bronze doors. Above them was a plaque, also in bronze, with a Latin phrase stamped onto it:

**_VOLO VINCERE QUOD MEUM _**

And above _that,_ an insignia was painted on the wall - a dark red **T** on a yellow background, with a green snake curled around it.

"You have to admit, his evil lair is somewhat nice," Fishlegs said.

_"No kidding,"_ Sam answered. She walked around the room, looking at the screens. "How'd he get all this down here? Someone should have found out by now."

"He's either really brave or really crazy," Freddie mused. "Probably both."

"Look at that!" Melanie exclaimed, standing in front of a screen. The other gathered around to see what she was talking about. It was an image of the strange machine with the tube that they'd seen in the binder.

Something caught Tuffnut's eye. In the corner of the screen, a small white circle was flashing rapidly. He reached out towards it. "I wonder..."

Carly saw what he was doing. "Tuff, _stop it!"_ she hissed as she pulled him away - one second too late.

All the screens flashed and went out. A loud alarm began blaring. Several of the ceiling tiles slid aside to reveal large vents, which blasted a purple gas into the room.

"Oh, _now_ they bring out the KO gas!" Sam exclaimed.

_"Don't breathe in!"_ Freddie yelled to the Vikings. But they had already collapsed.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, _WHAT'S HAPPENING?"_ Amanda yelled.

"Hey! Hey, calm down," Carly said. "Just calm...down..."

_I'm breathing it in. Yay._

* * *

"...Carly...Carly...?"

"Oh, man..._my head."  
_

"Carly, wake up," a vaguely familiar voice whispered, echoing slightly

Ignoring her splitting headache, Carly opened her eyes. Even if her vision hadn't been blurry, she couldn't have figured out where she was - the room was completely dark. "Sam, let's never eat taco ice cream again...I had this _horrible_ dream..."

"Well, you're lucky, then."

**_"...Hiccup?"_**

She tried to sit up, but she was still dizzy from the gas. "Are you okay? Where are you? Why's it so dark?"

"I'm right here," he said, pulling her up. "Are _you_ okay?"

"...I think so, yeah."

"Good, because - "

"Carly? _Carly!"_

"Spencer!"

"What were you guys _thinking?"_ her brother asked sharply as he hugged her.

"We wanted to find you guys."

At this, Spencer couldn't help smiling. "Well, you found us."

Suddenly a bright light was shined in their faces. "YES! I _knew _they wouldn't find Sam's secret flashlight!"

Hiccup sighed. "Ruff, Tuff, Lout, I told you; _be quiet._ For all we know, they're listening to every word we say."

"But how would they do that?" Astrid asked, coming to sit next to them. "I can't hear any guards outside."

"Not the _normal_ kind."

The girls raised their eyebrows at this and were about to ask what he meant when they were interrupted by Sam. "He's probably got microphones and cameras and who-knows-what everywhere. From here on out we say _absolutely nothing,_ got it?"

Freddie rolled his eyes. "We're not in a movie, Sam."

"Seems crazy enough to be true," Amanda added.

Carly looked around. Something wasn't right. "Where's...?"

"Hiccup, what did you mean they're not the _normal_ kind of guards?" Astrid asked.

"You didn't see them?" Gibby asked.

"Didn't see what?"

With a loud clanking noise, a door at the far end of the room rolled upwards, casting a blinding stream of light onto the huddled group.

Gibby pointed at the figures coming through the door. _"Them!"_

In silhouette, they looked human. But they weren't - the red glowing eyes and jerky movements made that all too clear. Ruffnut hurled her flashlight at one of them; it bounced off the thing's chest with a metallic _clang._

The prisoners watched in horror as the monsters shifted to reveal Trengrove standing in the doorway. "Do take care not to harm my droids, Miss Thorston," he said smoothly. "It's not for _their_ safety, it's for _yours._ Now, you're all coming with me. _Immediately."_

* * *

**Next chapter: A good number of bad guys have one weakness: they can never resist a chance to spell out their evil plot.**

**Ah, bless the wonderful music of Owl City! You should, it's the reason this chapter is finally done; all it took to get my creativity flowing again was starting up _Maybe I'm Dreaming_ on YouTube. When it was finished, so was I. This was gonna be longer, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting. School is very intense, and I've only been able to write a few paragraphs at a time each day. And my mom wonders why I stay up at night...speaking of which, it's 2:15 and my alarm goes off at 7:45. I must go. CC sends her love. Please leave a review.**

**~A. Kingsleigh  
**


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: Again, **_**no.**_

* * *

"I did what I had to do. I mean, your apartment must've been crawling with _trillions_ of germ types. Does Spencer ever take a break from his disgusting work to think about _hygeine?"_

Carly was about to lay a punch on Nevel when Trengrove grabbed her wrist. "I know you are smarter than to make such a move as _that,_ Miss Shay."

The intruders were being herded down a long, tall and narrow hallway by Trengrove, Nevel and the "droids." The group could have fought back had they not been so terrified of those _things_ - it was as though they'd been deliberately designed as _just_ inhuman enough to cause fear. They were like animated wax statues, moving jerkily, with hot coals inserted in their soulless, sagging eye sockets.

"Hey, not so tight!" Sam said to the two droids dragging her by the arms.

"I recommend you make no attempt to communicate with them," Trengrove said. "None were programmed to speak, only to obey me. A wonderful plan, don't you think? How I wish other humans could be programmed as such."

Carly carefully wrenched her way out of Trengrove's grasp. "Who _are_ you, anyway?"

"And where's Legs and Melanie?" Freddie added.

"All questions will be answered in time," he answered smoothly.

The walk continued in silence for a few more minutes until they reached a thick steel door with a small keypad in the wall next to it. Trengrove nodded at a droid, who stepped forward and monotonously but quickly pressed out a complicated password. The door slid upward, and they all stepped through.

This was the brightest room yet; floodlights shined down from every tile of the ceiling. A long table lined by leather chairs took up most of the space. Some kind of conference room, probably. Seated in one chair was an incredibly scared-looking Fishlegs. On the table facing him was a fancy laptop computer which he was awkwardly trying to type at. Across from him, Melanie was anxiously letting her gaze drift between him and the droid standing behind her chair. Closer inspection revealed that she was, in fact, handcuffed to the chair.

_"Guys!"_ they both yelled when they saw the others. Fishlegs paled further while Melanie tried to jump up, only to be pushed back down by the droid.

"Legs? You okay?" Hiccup asked his friend, who was slowly trying to shut the laptop.

"Mr. Ingerman has agreed to perform a small task for us," Trengrove said with a smirk, which scared the boy even more.

Sam raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "...Yeah, right."

Fishlegs slowly stood. "Well...actually...he's right."

_"WHAT?"_ his friends yelled.

"I-I said I would help him because if I didn't...he would..." His words and courage failing him, he simply sat back down and stared at Melanie helplessly.

"What is he talking about?" Sam asked icily.

Trengrove practically giggled. "1138?" he asked the droid with a smile.

Reaching beneath the table, the droid pulled out a handgun, cocked it and held it to Melanie's head.

"It's necessary, of course," Trengrove said to his horrified prisoners. "This is a necessary assignment. Mr. Ingerman required reinforcement, I was aware of his fondness for Miss Puckett - _you_ must understand, Mr. Shay?"

Spencer shook his head. "No."

Melanie stared at Fishlegs. "...Fondness?"

Fishlegs couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze.

Nevel looked confused. "Albert? You told me you would employ a non-lethal method."

"The plans were changed."

"Legs, what does he want you to do?" Freddie asked urgently.

Fishlegs turned the laptop towards him. "Write down stuff about dragons."

"So far, he has not followed his orders."

"I've never used one of these things before!"

"Nevel gave you a demonstration, did he not?"

"I..I wasn't - "

"1138?"

The gun was pressed into Melanie's head.

"No!"

"Stop!" shouted Carly. Stepping forward, she asked, "Fishlegs, if I type could you tell me what I need to write?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Trengrove, you'll let Melanie go if I help him."

"You seem rather confident of that."

"It wasn't an assumption. It's _what you're going to do. _Got that?"

_"And another thing,"_ Tuffnut interrupted. "You tell us what your crazy plan is. We didn't come all this way for _nothing."_

Trengrove scoffed at him. "Miss Shay?"

"What he said."

Trengrove scowled at them both. "...As you wish," he finally said.

"Carly, _don't!"_ her friends said.

Carly pulled Fishlegs out of his chair, saying "I'll take that seat." She looked at the screen. "Gronckles, huh? Can't they refill their shot limit or something?"

* * *

The task was a long and highly detestable one. Fishlegs, terrified for Melanie's safety, had trouble concentrating on his words. Each time this happened, Melanie would be poked with the gun once more, and he would begin again. It was one in the morning when they finally finished. Trengrove took the laptop, clicked the mouse a few times, then shut it down and commanded the droid to release Melanie. He then reached into his pocket, pulled out a small remote and pressed a button on it. A wall panel slid aside, revealing another hallway, and the group found themselves being herded once again.

"So what exactly did we do back there?" Carly asked suspiciously.

"Help me with my dragon research, of course. You are quite knowledgeable on the subject."

"And we are _flattered_ by that," Sam said sarcastically, "but is it really worth killing my sister over?"

"When you have the whole story, you will understand."

"So...what's the real story?" Hiccup asked after a moment of silence.

"Do you remember why I came to assist Nevel?"

"To help teach us about genetics," Freddie answered. "Your point?"

"Do you remember my project that I spoke to you about one morning?"

"You mean your plan to take over the world?" Tuffnut asked accusingly.

Trengrove just smiled.

They approached the end of the passageway. The friends expected Trengrove to open it, but he just stopped and turned to face them. "Each dragon has its specific abilities. Something that gives it an advantage over its enemies. Correct?"

"Yeah..."

"But these abilities are useful for certain situations, and they are unique to dragons. Correct?"

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. "What are you getting at?"

"What I am 'getting at,' young Hiccup, is this; what if someone could collect these abilities and create a creature which possessed _all_ of them...a _superdragon?"_

He pressed a button on his remote again, and the door opened.

They walked out onto a long metal balcony, framing a large, dark circular room. Below, they could see numerous droids surrounding a large structure in the center of the floor. Trengrove pressed yet another button on his remote, and a circle of lights around the structure lit up, illuminating it.

The teens recoiled in shock. It was _that machine._ A tall, narrow cylinder of glass attached to a metal dome protruding from the ceiling. "Do you like it?" Trengrove asked. "Come let's get a closer look." He led them towards a nearby staircase and down to the floor, where the droids stood at attention for Trengrove and just stared at the prisoners.

Something in the corner caught Hiccup's eye, an arch several feet wide and even taller. "What's that?"

Trengrove ignored him and steered them towards a large screen in the wall. He snapped his fingers, and a piece of the wall below it popped out to expose an intricate keyboard. "So, do you care to watch?"

"Not really," said Sam.

_"Good."_ He started typing, and the screen came to life, showing a three-dimensional blueprint of the machine.

"Why are you telling us?" Amanda asked.

"Why not?" Trengrove replied. "It's not as though you'll be around to tell anyone." As he talked, he continued to type, making the model do different things. "It's quite simple, really; I get a sample of blood from each dragon." Ten syringes appeared on the screen. "Analyze them for the proper genes." They mixed together to create a DNA symbol. "Mix them up in the dome." The symbol moved up into the dome and started to spin around. "And then..._the birth of my creation."_ A flash of light, and the machine was replaced with the silhouette of a dragon. "All the great powers combined. The most powerful creature in the world."

"It would be a _monster!"_ Hiccup exclaimed.

**"Exactly."**

"And...how'd you get our dragons?" Astrid asked, not sure if she wanted to know.

"Yeah! And _where are they **now?"**_ Ruffnut added.

"In response to your first question, _wormholes,"_ Trengrove replied as he gestured nonchalantly to the arch. "And for your second?" He pressed another button on his remote.

The friends jumped back in shock as several wall panels moved aside to show glass windows behind them, the grinding noise drowned out by enraged roars.

_"Behold,"_ Trengrove said, smirking.

Carly's eyes widened in horror as she realized what she was looking at. Through the windows, she could see small, brightly-lit rooms, and in them were...

_"Gabby!"_ Gibby yelled, rushing towards one window. Sure enough, the Gronckle inside banging at the glass was his.

_"Roger?"_ Spencer asked in wonder as he spotted a Boneknapper in one room.

"Why do you have _them?"_ Carly snapped as she saw Crystal.

"Just in case." Trengrove grabbed Hiccup's arm and began to drag him across the room, taking a handgun from a droid along the way.

"Let me go! What is _wrong_ with you?"

"I require you for something." Trengrove pulled Hiccup towards one of the rooms, Carly and the others following. The room was darkened, but Trengrove whistled and the lights flicked on.

Hiccup gasped and nearly sank to his knees. "You..._you leave him **out of this,"**_ he said.

The Night Fury snapped angrily at the strange emotionless man trying to stab him with the sharp little needle. He would have blasted the creature to ashes long ago, had he not known about the water that poured down when he tried to breathe fire. At the sound of a knock on the glass he turned around, intending to ram it, and stopped dead.

The evil man had his rider.

"Now, dragon," he said quietly. "Stand still and do your part."

Toothless saw Hiccup shaking his head frantically. _No._ If his rider did not wish it, then he would not. He continued to hiss and snap at the man with the needle...until he heard a strange sound from outside. He looked back to see what it was, and wished he hadn't.

The man had one of the loud weapons. He had made it click, and now he was pointing it at Hiccup.

Toothless felt rage flow through his body. Arching his back, he growled at the man...no, the monster. _You dare hurt my Hiccup, monster? Release him or you shall - AAGH!_

"Don't hurt him!" Hiccup shouted as the syringe plunged into Toothless' arm, filling with blood. Just looking at it made him nearly sick. Trengrove, on the other hand, was smiling with sadistic glee. When the deed was done, the droid walked to the window and pressed a button on its wrist. A small panel in the window opened up, and it handed the syringe to Trengrove - just before Toothless promptly pounced on the thing and began mauling it.

"At _last,"_ Trengrove said, not paying any attention to the violent scene going on directly behind him.

"Uh, Mr. Trengrove?" a horrified Nevel asked. "The droid...?"

"What droid?"

"You got issues, dude," Spencer said, disgusted.

"I've had a _very_ eventful life."

"No kidding," Sam said. _"How_ eventful?"

For a moment, Trengrove looked surprised. "What, you don't know?"

"Know what? None of us knew you existed two weeks ago...personally, I'd love for it to be like that again."

"Miss Carly?"

"What are you..." Carly trailed off as Trengrove stared into her eyes. Those eyes...she felt a sinking in her gut as she realized she'd seen those eyes before. _But where...?_

_Oh, no. Oh, **god** no._

"Something troubling you?"

"Just one thing..._**Alvin."**_

* * *

**Next chapter: And it just went downhill from there.**

**WHERE ARE YOU? I haven't heard anything, even from my regulars! I've been reduced to talking to myself! If you're reading this, PLEASE REVIEW! It only takes a minute...sorry, got a little out of control there. **

**Bye, guys! Hope you enjoyed this!**

**~A. Kingsleigh**


	17. Chapter 17

**Oh, look at this; we've got an e-mail from CC. *plays the Imperial March* **

**"Dear Miss Kingsleigh: my mission is going well. I have arrived at Ry'leh, lair of Cthulhu, and am now descending into his OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD"**

**Well, she seems to be doing fine. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'd like to let you all know two important things; first, there are probably two or three chapters left after this one. Second, the one-year anniversary of my arrival on this site is in just a few weeks (the 30th, to be exact.) Finally, my forum avatar Shall. Be. Upgraded.**

**DISCLAIMER: Let's do this the Darth Vader way...NOOOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOO!**

* * *

For a few short seconds, everyone in the room fell silent. Carly's friends and the Vikings were staring in terror, Melanie and Nevel in confusion. No one moved a muscle. They were focused on the man in front of them, smiling evilly.

Finally he said, "It's about time."

Then it all went to Hel.

In a flash, Alvin threw Hiccup to the floor and ran towards the staircase up to the balcony. _"Kill them!"_ he shouted as he pointed at the teens. The droids immediately surrounded them, pulling out guns, eyes glowing ominously. They forced their helpless victims into a smaller and smaller circle. Their guns were clicking now, they were about to fire...

With no other weapons in sight, Hiccup quickly pulled off his shoe and hurled it at the nearest droid. _THWAP!_ The sneaker struck the droid in the back of the head, and all the others joined it in turning around and glaring at him. Taking advantage of the distraction, Sam wrenched a gun out of one droid's hands and started firing.

Several droids dropped to the ground, writhing in a shower of sparks and leaving a gap in the circle. Bursting through, they rushed to the staircase, but the droids were catching up. "Guys, _go!"_ Sam yelled to Carly as she tossed her the gun

"What about you?" Hiccup asked Sam as he watched their friend charge up the stairs.

Wordlessly, Sam pulled a taser out of her pocket.

"Is that _mine?"_ Nevel asked.

_"Was,"_ Sam snapped back as she drove it into a droid's chest. The thing jerked, shuddered and finally fell to pieces. "Well, that's five for me. Any bets on the final headcount?" she said with a grin.

* * *

When Carly reached the balcony, Alvin was nowhere to be seen. _What the...?_

A shot rang out and a bullet flew past her face, embedding itself in the wall.

"Damn," Carly heard him mutter. She whirled around to see him standing a few feet away. Hands quivering, she raised up the gun. "Put the blood down."

"The dragon's or yours?"

She hastily dodged another bullet. "Wow, you're sucky at shooting _and_ keeping secrets."

"You are not afraid?"

"Terrified, actually. Not every day I have to fight a freakin' _zombie!"_

"You have much to learn." Another bullet.

"Then what are you now?" She shot at him, and barely missed.

"Please try not to kill my host body. It would be most inconvenient."

"You _possessed_ someone?"

"And absorbed his knowledge. Nobody important, just a scientist. With the knowledge I required."

_**"Oh, for the** **love of Thor, KILL HIM ALREADY!"**_ Astrid screamed at Carly from below.

_**"IT'S NOT THAT EASY!"**_ she shouted back.

"No..._it isn't."_

A loud blast rang in her ears. A sharp, searing pain raced through her as something struck her in the leg. She screamed as she fell to the ground, her head pounding and her vision blurred by tears. She was faintly aware of her friends calling her name, and she thought she saw Spencer run up the stairs towards her. Sitting up with a pained groan, she gently put her hand to her leg; she knew what had happened, but she wanted to be sure. _Yep. Blood._

With a cry of triumph, Alvin ran to the opposite end of the balcony. Drawing back his arm, he flung the syringe towards the metal orb like a spear and watched as it pierced the orb's side and was drained of blood. "It's _ready..."_

The others, now gathered around Carly, watched in horror as Alvin descended the stairs and approached the machine. "So it begins," he said with a smirk as he walked. "The conquest. At last this world shall know my name, when it falls _to my armies and **begs their new ruler for mercy."**_

"So you still think you're a king," Astrid responded coldly as Sam picked up Carly's gun and cocked it.

Alvin pressed a small green button on the control panel. "I _know_ that I am a _god."_

The lights flickered, then started to flash on and off. A loud humming filled the air as the machine came to life. The dome began to rotate, slowly at first, then spinning ever faster as it was obscured by the madly flashing strobe lights.

Grimacing in pain, Carly struggled to her feet. "Come on!" she cried as she stumbled down the stairs, her friends behind her.

"Mr. Tren...Alvin..._whoever you are! **TURN IT OFF!"**_ yelled a terrified Nevel as they reached the floor.

Alvin didn't even glance at him. He turned back to the control panel, to a large red button that had lit up. Ripping away the plastic case protecting the button, he smashed his fist down on it.

The humming abruptly transformed into an ear-splitting shriek as the lights surged, blinding everyone in the room.

Beneath all the pandemonium, Freddie heard a whining noise. "Look out! _They're gonna blow!"_

The teens covered their faces as, with a final burst of power, the lights shattered. Everything - the shrieking, the whining, the spinning of the dome - stopped as the room was plunged into complete darkness. All was silent. One by one, the lights around the tube flicked on.

Then the silence was broken by Amanda's screams.

_Something_ was now inside the tube. Something large, something moving...something _alive._

Melanie grabbed Fishlegs' hand. "...What's that?"

The creature was wriggling around, scratching at the walls of its prison, trying to escape. "No...no, you are not supposed to be angry!" exclaimed Alvin in confusion. As his creation continued to struggle, large cracks began to form in the tube. "But that material is unbreakable - "

He was interrupted by a wave of shattered glass.

"It...it's _out!"_ exclaimed Spencer.

**_"Shoot it! Shoot him! Shoot ANYTHING!"_** screamed Nevel. Before he could be stopped he had grabbed Sam's gun out of her hands and discharged it at the monster. But in his hysteria, he missed his target; the bullet slammed into the wall.

Everyone screamed as sparks showered down from the ceiling. There was a large burst of light from the wall panel Nevel had hit, then the floor lights abruptly burst, leaving them all in pitch blackness.

"...W-What just happened?"

"The power grid, you fool," snarled Alvin, advancing on them. "There's nothing to hold it back now. Can't be contained. It is free, and it wishes to kill." A growl from behind him got his attention. "Such power is only waiting to be harnessed."

"Stay away from it," Hiccup said forcefully. "For all our sakes, _stay away from it."_

"I **control** it!" retorted Alvin. "And with its power I shall conquer this world! _Show them,"_ he called out to the shadows. "Show them what you are capable of. Give them reason to - "

He never finished his monologue, for at that moment a furious roar pierced the air - the call of a Boneknapper. But, to the horror of the others, it was the maw of a_ Monstrous Nightmare_ that emerged from the darkness, snatched Alvin by the leg and pulled him away, disappearing as quickly as it had come.

They were too terrified to scream.

"What _is_ that thing?" Amanda whispered as a large, twisted dark shape broke away from the shadows and lumbered towards them.

Sam got out the flashlight attached to her belt. Taking a breath and bracing herself, she pointed it at the mass and clicked it on.

The real thing wasn't like what they'd imagined.

It was worse.

* * *

**Next chapter: Who's up for a fight to the death in the dark? Yeah, I didn't think so.**

**Yes, I'm still alive. It's just that while writing this I was working on another story, went to New Orleans and FINALLY started watching Doctor Who. Fun stuff. **

**Please review!**

**~A. Kingsleigh  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER: Sorry, but no.**

* * *

Things like _this..._they weren't supposed to exist. Not outside of a person's most horrible nightmares, anyway.

The abomination shrunk back from the beam of the flashlight, snarling with hatred at its source. Yes, it _did_ have the huge jaws of a Monstrous Nightmare; but there was even more than that. The spikes of a Nadder ran down its back. Its tail ended in a Gronckle's club. A Zippleback head protruded from its neck, breathing out its telltale green gas. An armor of bones was embedded into its skin. It hissed at them like a Terrible Terror would; they barely dodged the small, deadly accurate fireball. As it glared at them once more, they could see its eyes...a Night Fury's.

Snarling, it crawled towards them, saliva dripping from its open jaws.

"What..what do we do?" Amanda squeaked.

"Move slowly," Hiccup said, starting to back away. "No sudden movements. Don't run, don't scream - "

**"GET AWAY FROM US!"** Nevel shrieked. Before he could be stopped, he had ripped the flashlight from Sam's hands and hurled it at the beast.

**_"NO!"_** everyone yelled.

The flashlight pathetically struck the superdragon on the snout and fell to the floor, having made no mark. The dragon stared maliciously at the group of puny humans huddling together. They had thrown light at it, and it was displeased. Crushing the flashlight beneath its foot, it snuffed out the offensive glow, leaving the room in complete darkness.

_Perfect._

Roaring in anger, it lunged - wait, what was _this?_ Something had latched onto his back! It was shrieking and clawing at him!

The others could recognize that shriek anywhere. _"Toothless!"_

With an annoyed grunt, the superdragon shook the Night Fury from its back, sending the lesser beast slamming into a wall. A shower of sparks erupted from the impact, followed by a large puff of smoke.

"Isn't there _anything_ that can stop it?" Amanda asked Fishlegs as the humans dashed across the room and ducked behind a crate. The burned, bleeding beast was stomping around the lab now, trying to sniff out its prey.

"I don't know..."

Toothless, still lying where he had fallen, slowly stood. Glaring at his enemy, he took a deep breath and unleashed a bright blue fireball.

The superdragon jumped back, shielding its eyes and screaming in hatred as the flames shot by its head, only _just_ missing it.

"Did you see that?" Fishlegs asked in wonder.

"He missed," Sam deadpanned.

"Not _that!_ The reaction!" Closing his eyes, Fishlegs tried to remember all the superdragon's characteristics. "It's got little eyes. Disproportionate to the head. Sensitive to light, apparently..."

Melanie was staring at the ceiling. "There's some sprinklers up there."

"Some what?"_  
_

"They shoot out water!"

His eyes widened with realization as her message finally got through. "Oh..._oh!"_

"And how's _that_ going to help?" Nevel snapped. "There's no power. That dragon slammed into the main grid - "

"The main power grid?" Freddie asked.

"Yeah..."

Freddie looked back at the sparking, smoking panel. "If we can get to that thing, maybe I can rewire power to the sprinklers."

_"Go **back there?"**_ Nevel squeaked.

"Why not?" said Snotlout bluntly.

Hiccup dared to glance at the superdragon. "It's still looking for us."

"I'll distract it," Sam said. "You guys get ready to run."

"Sam, don't - "

"No, _you _don't," Sam snapped at her sister. "It's okay. I got this. Now stay safe."

_"You_ stay safe. And stay out of its blind spot!"

Sam cracked a grin as she stood and turned away.

"Wait for it," whispered Hiccup. "Wait for it..."

**"HEY!"** Sam yelled, jumping up and down. "Over _here!"_

"Go!"

Noticing Sam, the superdragon roared in anger and gave chase. The unearthly shriek made the entire room shake, sending chunks of metal and cement raining down towards the others as they half-sneaked, half-raced across the room, to the panel and Toothless. Dodging inert droids, unconscious dragons, flaming debris and the sound of heavy footsteps, Sam tried to lead the dragon away from her friends. "That the best you got?" she asked mockingly as she removed her jacket and waved it in the air. "Don't know what Alvin saw in _you._ Why would he - "

The dragon spun around, spat out a fireball and the jacket practically disintegrated. "...Oh._ That."_

In a flash, the dragon had raised its gnarled talons and slammed them down onto Sam, trapping her.

"Guys, _hurry!"_ Gibby yelled, watching the scene with horror.

"We're trying!" Freddie shouted back as he and Nevel desperately tried to restart the circuits. "Come on, come on..."

The superdragon reared its head and breathed in, building a fireball...

_FWISH!_

Sam scrambled into a corner as the dragon leaped back, writhing in pain as the ceiling sprinklers came to life.

"We got it!" Spencer exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, for a few seconds," said Astrid. As if on cue, the sprinklers sputtered and went out.

Quickly scanning the room in search of the new hiding place they'd need, Freddie noticed something - the dragon was panting. Dangerous, yeah, but panting. He watched as a dark blue ooze began dripping from its mouth...

"What are you _doing?"_ Carly asked incredulously as Freddie whipped out his phone, punched in a number and turned back to the grid.

Across the room, Sam answered her ringing phone. "Hello?"

"Sam, can you lead that thing back to the tube?" Freddie said urgently. "I got an idea!"

"I hate it already."

"Just listen! The dragon's genetically unstable! I'm gonna need a little more power, but if that thing gets back in the machine we could reroute power to the tube and electrocute that thing! We could kill it!"

The line went dead. "...Sam?"

**"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

Everyone stared in horror as Sam jumped from her hiding place and raced toward the tube, screaming and flailing.

The superdragon grunted in annoyance - it would make it simple this time. Rearing back and breathing in, it let loose a stream of multicolored flame. Red, orange, blue, white...they united to transform the lab into an inferno.

Even in such a time as this, Carly took note of the fact that Nevel had a _perfect_ little girl scream.

"Stop it!" Ruffnut snapped, smacking him upside the head.

"Don't you _dare_ attempt that!"

"Freddie, _is it gonna work or not?"_ Amanda said.

"There's not enough power! It needs a jolt!"

**"We're all gonna _die!"_**

"I _said_ stop it!"

_"You_ stop it!"

"Do you want that thing to...hey, how'd you get that?"

Nevel looked down at his hand. In his frenzy, he'd pulled a taser out of his pocket. The taser Sam had taken, to be exact. "What the...?"

"I slipped it in your pocket," Melanie stated bluntly.

"What?" Freddie asked as he turned around. His eyes widened as he spotted the taser.

"Just this old thing - "

"Hand it over here! Now!"

"Um, guys?" Snotlout squeaked. "Bigger problem."

The powerful flames were too much for the walls of the lab; they were bending, cracking, disintegrating, _collapsing._

The superdragon crawled to the center of the room as it pursued the girl. She was obscured by the increasing smoke, but it could hear her breathing. She could not run much longer. A twisted grin appeared on its face as it roared in triumph_ - _it could see her now, standing in its former prison. Crouching down, it sprang towards her with a burst of speed; it wished to have the pleasure of mauling her itself.

"What do you want it for?" Nevel asked incredulously.

_"This!"_ Freddie yelled as he snatched away the taser, turned it on and held it to a wire.

With quick brutality, the superdragon pounced into the tube, flipped its prey in the air and crushed her in its jaws. What fine blood she had! A pity she was so small...wait. This blood was not like the man's. It was cold and thin. Blood was thick and warm. Letting the mangled corpse drop from its jaws, it examined the mess. This body was not shaped like the girl, it was shaped like the man. Furthermore, there were no soft and chewy innards, only cold metal. The blood was merely water. This was not a human: it had been tricked out of its kill!

And something else was not right. There was...a crackling noise in ears. Its head...its head was _killing_ it.

* * *

For Carly, time seemed to slow down. She was aware of Spencer pulling her to her feet, dragging her along as he ran towards the stairs. Sam was already there, screaming for them to hurry. The dragons were desperately slamming themselves against the walls of their cages, trying to escape the burning lab. The ceiling was bulging, caving in. She was aware of charging blindly up the stairs, hurling herself at the door. For just a moment, she pulled away from her brother's grasp and looked back.

Just in time to see the superdragon's head explode as its body melted into slime.

Then Toothless grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her away.

It all vanished in a moment; the fire, the dragon, all the horror. Just _them,_ sprawled about the hallway, choking back tears of joy at being alive. But...there was something else. _The pain. The pain she'd felt when Alvin had fired at her, it was **back.**_

"My...my leg...it...it hurts...it..._help me."_

Her vision swam and blurred and the voices of her friends faded into the distance. Spencer was staring at her in terror, babbling incoherently as he tried to stop the flow of blood. "No, no, no! We gotta get her back to the city!" she barely heard Sam say.

_**"How?"**_ Spencer choked out.

"Like this," said Hiccup.

She felt herself being picked up, put on Toothless. He was running now, down the hall and through rooms they'd passed before, although she hardly registered it. In the small room with the trap door ceiling, the Night Fury sent a blast upwards, spread his wings, leaped into the air...

...and then she was flying.

She watched in wonder as the trees of the forest gradually gave way to the lights of Seattle below her. "You're okay," Hiccup whispered to her. "It's gonna be okay."

Smiling in contentment, she closed her eyes and let the world disappear.

* * *

**Next chapter: Happiness, acts of redemption and something resembling closure. This song will soon be ending.**

* * *

**Okay, proposition! Everyone who reviews gets to participate in executing me for being so late! You know you'd really like to!**

**~A. Kingsleigh  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, I brought a frying pan, a plunger, a big barrel of molasses, 30 dozen tennis balls and a Ming vase. Everyone ready? Take aim...FIRE AT WILL!**

***several physical and psychological pain-filled minutes later***

***crawls to laptop* Don't...own...iCarly...HTTYD...(brain shuts down).  
**

* * *

_So. I'm dead. At least, I __**think**__ so. It's dark, I can't feel anything and that light in the distance keeps getting brighter._

_Maybe I just got knocked out again. __**That's**__ happened a lot. Besides, I can't die...well, I __**could,**__ I probably just __**did,**__ but still...Spencer's too stupid for me to die..._

"She's talking!" _That's Gibby's voice._ "Guys, she's talking!"

"What? I...ow, ow, _ow!"_

"Relax," said Astrid. "It's just your leg."

Blinking to clear her blurry vision, Carly sat up to find herself on the couch in her apartment, her friends gathered around her anxiously.

"Hey there, kid," Sam said. "You alright?"

"I think so."

"Do you remember anything?" Amanda asked hesitantly.

Carly paused, and then gasped. Yeah, she _did_ remember.

"Oh god...t-the dragon! A-And Alvin! We were all gonna die! The lab was on fire! I got _shot! _We're all dead _right now,_ aren't we?"

"We gave it our best shot," Hiccup answered with a smile.

"But we almost did," added Ruffnut, "because _somebody_ wouldn't shut up."

"Neither would _you,"_ a familiar voice snapped irritably from the kitchen.

Recognizing the voice, Carly whirled around. "What are you doing here, Nevel?" she yelled. Violently tossing a pillow at the intruder, she then got on her feet and started towards him. "If you've messed anything else up I _swear_ I'm gonna - _ow!"_

"You'll need to stay off that," Spencer said as he helped her into a chair. "He's not here to mess stuff up."

"...Is that true?"

"They would have left me on top of the Space Needle otherwise," Nevel answered.

Her leg was still throbbing. "Weird. I thought it would hurt more."

Freddie smiled at her sympathetically. "Well, actually - "

"What happened? Oh, God, I _am_ dead, aren't I?"

"No! No, it's just..."

"A long story?"

"Yeah...?"

"Excruciating details, please."

So they told her. They told her how they had electrocuted the superdragon to death and barely escaped the collapsing lab. How the bullet had only grazed her leg, the blood it released going unnoticed until the adrenaline had worn away. How Hiccup had gotten her onto Toothless and personally flown her above the clouds, all the way back to Bushwell.

"But...but what about the other dragons?" Carly asked, glaring at Nevel. "They were trapped in those cages - "

"Which saved their lives," Nevel answered. "They were indestructible."

"...A-And what about Alvin?"

"Missing," said Sam.

"You mean 'dead,' right?"

Astrid shook her head. "We looked everywhere. There wasn't a body. Not even signs he'd been eaten."

A chill ran down Carly's spine. If that monster was still alive, then what had they really done? What had they almost died to accomplish last night? "So...what happens now?"

Nevel dared to take a seat next to her. "Well, the site hasn't been discovered yet. Only a matter of time, though. I'd hate to be the person it gets traced back to."

"What about _you?_ Where are _you_ going?"

He smiled guiltily. "My flight to Yudonia leaves in four hours."

"Why are you still here, then?"

"...I have some unfinished business. Concerning all of you."

* * *

"You know who _else_ you should hate to be, Nevel? The person who's gotta _clean this up!"_

It was a miracle that the lab that it was still standing at all. Rubble, metal and droid bodies littered the floor_. _The concrete pillars were cracking and crumbling. Chunks of the ceiling were falling out, exposing the sun. Nevel hadn't been lying when he said it was like a bomb had gone off. Nor had he been lying when he said the dragons' prisons had saved their lives. They were still banging at the plexiglass when their humans arrived, and roared with joy when they caught sight of them.

"We're not done, you know," Astrid said as she stroked her Nadder, Windwalker.

"What do you mean?" Carly asked, placing Crystal on her shoulder.

"They can't stay here. Someone's gonna find them."

"Now about _that,"_ Nevel interrupted. "That's the _other_ thing."

He led them across the room, to an alcove which had been spared the worst of the previous night's incident. Pushing aside rubble, they stepped inside and were met with a strange sight.

"I remember that thing!" exclaimed Hiccup, staring at the tall arch. "It was just sitting here. He wouldn't say what it was."

"A wormhole tapper," Nevel said as he strode to the arch and began flipping switches on its side. "Exactly what it sounds like, really. He wasn't that clear about it, but basically it sort of...finds these bridges through time and space, and it connects with them, lets people travel across them. It's a portal."

Carly was the first to realize what he was trying to tell them. "And there's one to...?"

Nevel pushed a button and the arch turned on, its machinery humming gently. Everyone watched in wonder as the room - what they could see of it through the arch, anyway - blurred, swam and swirled out of focus. It changed color, rearranged itself, created a new image...the image of a calm, sunny forest clearing.

"Toothless, _no!"_ Hiccup shouted as the Night Fury suddenly bounded towards the arch. When he jumped through it, the image of the forest briefly flashed white before fading back into view - only now Toothless was in it, happily rolling around in the grass.

"...How'd he get in that picture?" a wide-eyed Snotlout asked in shock.

"Because it's really there," answered Nevel. "That's Berk, year 1011. Step through this thing and you'll be home."

"We can - but it's just - _really?"_

"You deserve to."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ruffnut shouted. "Come on, let's go!"

Spencer grinned at the Vikings. "Well? You heard her."

Ruff, Tuff and their Zippleback were the first to go. Quickly saying their goodbyes, they stepped through, Tuff staying behind a moment to say, "Oh, and by the way? I was _right all along!"_ They were followed by Snotlout and Fireworm, then the other dragons. Well, most of them.

"She likes you a lot, doesn't she?" Amanda asked as she watched Crystal cling to Carly's shoulder.

"Yeah, well, mutual feeling."

Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs were the only three left. "Well, here we are again," the lanky boy remarked.

"It was fun," Freddie said, giving him a hug.

"Despite getting tased and kidnapped and nearly burned to - "

**"GIBBY!"**

"So...what happens after this?" Astrid wondered hesitantly.

"After you leave? The portal gets closed, the arch gets destroyed..."

_"Destroyed?"_ they all asked worriedly.

"It has to be. No one can ever know about this."

There was a moment of silence, and then Sam slowly put her arms around Astrid. One by one the others joined, all drawing each other into a tight hug. For a moment there was no Nevel, no lab, no world; just _them._ Them and the adventures they'd had, the friendship they shared, the memories they would always cherish.

And then that moment was over.

Fishlegs and Melanie looked at each other. "Um...well...goodbye, then," the former finally said.

"Yeah...bye."

As he turned away, however, she grabbed his arm, pulled him back to her and kissed him gently on the cheek. "I'm gonna miss you."

He was shocked, but quickly returned to his senses. "Mutual feeling." He hesitated for a moment, then briefly pressed his lips to hers. "Wish I'd done that earlier."

"Wish I could see you again."

"Sometimes wishes come true," he replied with a grin. Then he stepped away from her and went through the portal.

Hiccup started to follow Astrid through, but she stopped him. "Take your time."

He nodded, then turned back to Carly. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. How about you? What are you gonna tell your dad?"

"I met up with an old friend," he answered, smiling. "Anything else?"

"Just...I'm really glad I met you."

He hugged her one last time. "Mutual feeling."

They watched as he stepped up to the portal. He looked back, giving them one last smile.

And then, with a flash of light, the forest faded away - taking their friends from the past and the greatest adventures of their lives with it.

* * *

**Don't go away! It's not over yet!**


	20. Epilogue

_**Miss**** Kingsleigh? Wakey-wakey...**_

**Huh, what...? Oh...OH! CC! Y-You're BACK! So...so early!**

_**Something wrong? You seem a little...what is THIS? Did you finish the story WITHOUT ME?**_

**Hey, I knew you were gonna be gone awhile and I couldn't keep everyone waiting, so - OW! Uncalled for! No, no, not again, not OW OW OW! Look, if it makes you feel any better, I still have to write the epilogue. You wanna help? Put. The flyswatter. Down.**

_**...Oh, all right.**_

**See, isn't not attacking me FUN?**

**DISCLAIMER: These things aren't mine. I'm just messing with them for the moment, and I'm about to put them back (albeit in less-than-stellar condition.)**

* * *

**- Six Months Later -**

* * *

"I _finally_ found one!"

"Found what?"

"A place in Seattle that delivers fried chicken!"

"You know, last time I checked you were supposed to help pack."

"She's almost done. Look, it's just gonna take a minute - "

_"After _we get back from the airport!"

"The flight's not for three hours!"

"Oh..._fine."_

Carly sighed and sunk back further into the couch. She really shouldn't be surprised by Sam's behavior, but _still_...your sister's leaving and you're thinking about _fried chicken?_

After six months in Seattle, it had become painfully obvious that having two daughters just wasn't going to work for the Puckett household. And so it was that Melanie would be returning to her boarding school, not to return for quite a while (if at all); her flight left in just a few hours and because Mrs. Puckett had been arrested and Spencer was in Vancouver showing off his new exhibit of dragon sculptures, Carly would be driving her. She'd spent the last few months learning and had finally gotten her license.

The apartment door opened, and in stepped Freddie and Gibby. "Did we miss her?" the former asked.

"No, she's still getting ready," Carly answered. "What's with the newspaper?"

He grinned mischievously. _"This!"_ he said as he triumphantly gestured to an obscure headline.

Sam grabbed it out of his hands. "What's so - holy _chiz."_

Carly took a look. " 'Mount Baker's Madman Admitted to Mental Institution.' Is this...?"

"Oh, just some amnesiac called Albert Trengrove."

According to the article, Alvin had managed to evade capture for the past six months, slowly losing his memory and sanity. By the time he'd been found he was a wild-eyed, half-dead wreck speaking only in feral shrieks. There was no way of identifying him, and he refused to communicate. So he was being taken to an institution where he would, in all probability, spend the rest of his days.

"OMG, that is...really..."

"Good _riddance,"_ Sam deadpanned.

"Yeah, that. Thanks, Sam." Carly let herself sigh in relief: another weight lifted from her shoulders. Spencer had been completely paranoid ever since his disappearance, even seriously considering the idea of moving, and for once his sister had understood why. But now, after a thousand years, they were finally rid of Alvin the Treacherous.

They heard the elevator trundling up its shaft and watched as the door opened to reveal Melanie and Amanda, both carrying several large bags. "You got everything together?" Carly asked them.

"Yep," Melanie said. "We should go soon..." she trailed off as her smile began to fade.

"Peak time for traffic congestion, ya know," Amanda jumped in helpfully. "Getting to be a major issue."

_Oh, Amanda._ Despite her best efforts, her mock article hadn't been enough to get her into the School at Sea - but it _had_ gotten the attention of the school paper. She'd jumped at the chance when asked to join, and in a few months she was one of their busiest and most valuable reporters. She had appeared on iCarly a few times and occasionally came to Carly and her friends for help, which they were now more than happy to give. She still dreamed of traveling and getting out of Seattle but, as she said, "I've got plenty of time."

"So," Melanie said after an awkward silence. "This is it."

"You're coming back, right?" Gibby asked innocently.

She just gave him a sad look and hugged him tightly. "Yeah...I wish."

"It's gonna be okay," Carly said reassuringly as Melanie hugged her next. "We'll e-mail you. All the time!" She seemed to brighten at this.

"What, no kiss?" Freddie asked teasingly after his hug.

"...No," she answered quietly.

Sam didn't wait to be approached "I know I was kinda mean to you at first, but...after all _that_ I..." At a loss for words, she abruptly threw her arms around her sister. "I'm sorry. You're not all boring and perfect, you're totally awesome and I'm gonna miss you and keep in touch all the time and watch out for Mom and stuff."

"Are...are you okay?" Melanie asked.

Her sister sheepishly released her. "Yeah," she replied, trying to slide back into her old demeanor and indiscreetly rub the tears from her eyes. "Geez, Carls. You left out a crate of onions or something?"

Freddie started picking up bags and headed for the elevator. "Come on, let's go - "

There was a rapid knocking at the door and a soft thud of something landing on the carpet.

Carly opened the door and looked around. No one, nothing but a small envelope lying on their doorstep. "Hello?" she called out as she picked it up and examined it. No address.

"What is it?" Gibby asked as she closed the door.

"No idea," she answered. Tearing open the envelope, she removed a piece of paper, unfolded it and stared at its contents.

"...Well?"

"Still no idea."

* * *

It had been nothing special - just a map of the history museum park, the kind you could pick up anywhere. Only someone had scribbled an X on the northeast side with the message "Please come now! Bring your friends!" And so they had, making their way to the appointed spot and soon finding themselves in a shady, secluded clearing.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Carly called out.

"This is only funny for _one of us!"_ Sam added. Neither received an answer.

Amanda examined the map again. "Are we in the right place?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," said Carly.

"So...what do you think this is?" Gibby asked.

"Just some kid with a weird sense of humor," said Sam. "I would know. Come on, let's get outta here."

_"Or,"_ a familiar voice rang out, "you could just turn around. Personally that sounds much easier."

**"Hiccup?"**

There, standing across the clearing, were their six lost friends - and one other familiar face.

"Well, don't just stand there!" snapped Nevel. "You have twenty minutes and then that wormhole closes for another six months. And I haven't got all day, either!"

_"...WHAT?"_

At the moment, though, it didn't matter.

The village was doing fine, Hiccup told them. His dad and Gobber sent their greetings and thanks. Fishlegs had spent the last months educating the neighboring tribes about accepting dragons, an endeavor which had been surprisingly successful. Lout, Ruff and Tuff hadn't changed a bit. As for himself, he'd been training to succeed his father as chief...and preparing for his and Astrid's wedding.

Carly smiled as she watched his own amazement at his good fortune; _just you wait, buddy. Just you wait._ She told him about learning to drive, and Spencer's dragon sculptures, and Amanda getting onto the school paper and the impending departure of Melanie. "And he was so excited to see her again," Hiccup said sadly.

"Looks to me like he still is," Carly answered. The pair in question were seated beneath a tree, swapping stories and laughing like they had all the time in the world.

Meanwhile, in as few words as possible, Nevel explained that when Hiccup and his friends had left, something had gone wrong. "I'd just gotten back from Yudonia and was taking a walk here when the air started shimmering and - "

"Bored now," Sam deadpanned.

"I must not have powered the arch down right, or there was enough negative energy generated to trigger the Casimir effect - "

"Would it kill you to _speak English?"_

"Somehow it kept the bridge from disappearing. It'll open and close it at certain times, and it can be used for travel."

"You mean we can visit?" Carly asked hopefully.

"Er...sort of. For an hour every six months, that's what I calculated."

"Man, that is just _not fair!"_ whined Tuffnut. "Now I gotta listen to Legs whine about Melanie for six more months!"

Fishlegs and Melanie laughed nervously. "It's gonna be longer than that," the former said. "But I won't make a big deal of it, I swear!" he added quickly upon seeing his friends' horror-stricken faces.

"You sure you're gonna be okay?" Melanie asked him. "It'll be two years, at least."

"I'll be too busy to notice," he said jokingly.

She smiled, then pulled down her ponytail and handed him the sparkly hairband. "Keep this safe for me, will you!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

A cool, crisp wind kicked in at that moment, picking up fallen leaves, carrying them into the air before swirling them in a circle around the group. The now-shimmering air was filled with a low rumbling.

"Hole's opening!" yelled Nevel, hurriedly backing away.

Carly threw her arms around Hiccup one last time. "See you in six months."

"I'll be there."

"Good, 'cuz if you get kidnapped we're _not_ coming after you!" Sam added.

He laughed. "But I'm so good at it!"

The rumbling grew in intensity as the ground began to shake. "Goodbye, goodbye!" the two groups of friends called out to each other.

A flash of light, a loud crack...and then they were gone. The air returned to normal, the rumbling stopped and the wind instantly died away. A calm, quiet peace settled over the clearing.

"Will...will we really see them again?" Amanda asked as they stared at the spot where the Vikings had been.

Carly listened closely. For a split second she could still hear the echoes of their farewells hanging in the air._ Like a promise._

"Oh, yeah. Totally."

"So," said Sam. "Airport, fried chicken, smoothies. Who's with me?"

* * *

**|~| The End |~|**

* * *

**Well, that's that.  
**

** I think we can take away an EXTREMELY important lesson** **from this little story; ****A. Kingsleigh should not attempt to create her own sci-fi technology.** **Not without more experience in the field, of course. Which is why I'll be sailing into safer waters for my next fic...**

_**What, a steampunk Star Wars is safer than THIS?**_

***sigh* I like Star Wars, I like steampunk. Win-win for everyone! NOW CEASE AND DESIST! Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for reading and reviewing, especially**** Annabeth The Unicorn and ida4444. It was always great to see reviews from you guys. You gave me some great ideas and helped me keep this story on track.**

**I bid thee farewell and hope to see some of you again! That's all for _iTrainVikings! _Allons-y, CC!  
**

**_...Seriously?_**

**I'm studying French, so TECHNICALLY I have an excuse to say it.  
**


End file.
